


No Longer

by taylothlorien



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Slavery, Ancestors as Parents, Breeding, Multi, Non-Sexual Slavery, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sexual Slavery, Slavery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-01
Updated: 2018-03-19
Packaged: 2018-03-26 15:38:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 52,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3855994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taylothlorien/pseuds/taylothlorien
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>But the trolls did not account for failure, did not account for the black-bloods to fight back, and certainly did not account for what followed. Who could have known how much strength was in a black-blood? After all, they had only been around for a few sweeps.<br/>It was an absolute slaughter.<br/>---<br/>Slaves under a typical black-blood master, forced to breed and work the fields, the trolls find new ways of living they never thought possible. Their children, however, have a different plan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introduction

First, there were the trolls with colored blood. Every color from cool purples to deep burgundies, with your occasional mutant red – the lime-bloods had been hunted to extinction ages before. The hemospectrum was riddled with violence and prejudice. Highbloods killing lowbloods was not uncommon, not something a troll would bat an eye at. Mutant blood was a cullable offense, and everyone knew not to piss off anyone above blue for that was a sure death sentence.  


And yet, things were not the worst that they could be. Each blood color found ways to make it in the world and, more or less, trolls were resigned to the issues of their society and lived with them without much complaint. This went on for centuries, eons it seemed to the trolls. That was, of course, until the mothergrub figured out what was going on.  


You see, in those times, troll reproduction required the facilitation of the mothergrub in order to produce a baby troll, a grub. Trolls of all blood colors would contribute their genetic material to the mothergrub and she and the resident lusii of the planet would produce and care for the grubs as they turned into wrigglers and, soon, fully functioning adult trolls. The system was not perfect, but it wasn't bad either. The mothergrub did not raise the trolls, so it was a surprise to everyone when things changed.  


The mothergrub didn't like the idea of her spawn killing eachother one bit. Aside from their scraps for survival in her caverns, she had the impression that they would live on once they surfaced with their lusii. When she did find out what was going on, she was enraged and put her entire self into changing it.  


The mothergrub stopped producing colored-blooded trolls. For an entire sweep, no new trolls hatched, and in a state of anxiety and panic over no grubs to care for, lusii began to die off rapidly. By the end of the sweep, they were nearly extinct.. The trolls were in a panic, though they were certain the mothergrub had not died just yet. What could they possibly do to keep their species going? And who would care for them? They could not reproduce of their own accord, and trolls certainly were no lusii. But the mothergrub answered that query soon enough.  


One and a half sweeps after the mothergrub stopped producing colored-blooded trolls, a new, sizable batch of trolls emerged from the caverns and the planet was warned by the shrill, dying sound of the mothergrub's last breath. The mothergrub was dead and this was her last brood. Quickly, troll society rallied to save these last grubs. Every single available lusus was brought to a grub and culling of any troll below a certain age was strictly banned.  


The entire society watched these trolls grow at the start, but a few months in when one died of natural causes and was brought out of its hive to be buried by its lusus, the trolls of the world were shocked to find that these trolls were different than any before in a way no troll knew how to handle.  


These trolls' blood was black.  


A few sweeps later, society got another shock entirely when a black-blooded 8-sweep-old pailed an 9-sweep jade-blood with a particular disregard for normal pailing technique, and the jade-blood began to change. The nation watched the jade-blood's story unfold as perigees passed and the troll's stomach began to swell. Insane symptoms were accompanying this strange disease that no doctors could figure out.  


And then, twelve perigees later, the nation was up in arms as the jade-blood produced two grubs that emerged from their nook, one black-blood and one jade.  
Cases like this slowly began to surface, and the trolls seemed to have found their answer. Black-blooded trolls could somehow make colored-blooded trolls reproduce, the results being one troll of color and one black-blood. The answer was clear from the aggressive troll society; enslave the black-blooded trolls for this purpose and keep things relatively as they were before the mothergrub passed. As this plan was put into action, things seemed to look up for the trolls.  


But the trolls did not account for failure, did not account for the black-bloods to fight back, and certainly did not account for what followed. Who could have known how much strength was in a black-blood? After all, they had only been around for a few sweeps.  


It was an absolute slaughter.  


Such a significant chunk of colored-blooded troll population was wiped out that the Empress was forced to abdicate to a black-blood in order to save the rest of her people. By the time all was said and done, the original two-thousand black-blooded trolls had conquered the entire planet and had kept only a few hundred colored-bloods alive.  


And so it was that in an act of ultimate revenge, the black-bloods enslaved the colored-bloods and a new world order was established.


	2. Foeto

The slave quarters on plantations were not terrible. They were set up like a little village in the rear of the property. It was almost like the stories they were told of the old planet before black-blooded masters. Each slave color had its own little hive with a small ablution block, though there was only one kitchen for all the slaves to share in their small common building that acted as a school for young slave-trolls, a meeting house, and even a church once or twice a perigee when they could find time.  


This plantation in particular had twelve slave hives, for it was owned by a wealthier master who was able to afford all twelve colors of slave-troll. He had just come into new money in the grand scheme of things and had carefully picked twelve slave-trolls to start his plantation up with. Some would work in the fields, some in the house, depending on their standing with their master.  


Condesce, the fuschia-blood, was the first chosen by Master to come to the plantation. He had paid a pretty penny for her, what with her blood being historically royal centuries ago. Dualscar was also fairly expensive, but Master had figured it was worth the money to be able to check every color off his list. Then there were Grand, Darkleer, and Spinneret, who were fairly expensive as well before he started being able to haggle bargains. Redglare, Dolorosa, and Disciple were easy to negotiate the price down on. Psiioniic, Summoner, and Handmaid were practically given to him by an eager seller, ready to get the lower bloods off his roster.  


Then, there was Signless. Signless was the biggest gamble Master ever made, and by far his luckiest. At a blood-blind auction, Signless was one of many trolls on stage but the only one Master couldn't look away from. He knew there was something about the troll that was exactly what he was looking for, so he bid, higher than he originally intended to, and when he walked up to the stage to claim his prize, the knife he was handed to check the blood color he had won was soon lined with cherry red.  


Fortunately for these twelve trolls, they had a very passive master. Nobody really ever saw him unless a particularly bad punishment was in order. He never came out to the slave quarters and rarely supervised work, so as long as the plantation was running smoothly, they were able to lead pleasant, happy lives.  


It was very easy to forget their darker purpose.  


\-----

  


Signless was on housework for twelve perigees like the rest in his group. The six highest bloods were the first group to be bred, and the first half of the sweep they were allowed to work the house while the other six were forced to work the fields, rarely receiving supplemental help when the harvest got hard. Now that they had taken their perigee of recovery time with their grubs, obviously having surrendered the black-blooded grubs to Master to expand his own family with an expensive, purchased lusus for his little black-blooded gems, Condesce, Dualscar, Grand, Darkleer, Redglare, and Spinneret were back in the fields.  


It was only a perigee ago that Signless had been called into the special room in the main house, the sixth in as many nights in a row to be stuffed with an unwanted bulge, filled with genetic material until there was a slight expansion to his stomach, and plugged to ensure his purpose was fulfilled. He had stumbled back across the property in the late hours of the night to his small slave-hive and wept until his face hardened and he would not weep any longer. He would not let himself, could not let himself if he wanted to survive, him and his soon-to-be grub. He had seen this happen with each of his friends, if he could call slave relationships friendships.  


Spinneret was the first to give birth and aside from the black-blooded grub no troll ever spoke of, her little grub was named Aranea. It was a dramatic experience for all the trolls who could stomach helping with the birth. Redglare had been the one to deliver the fresh, black-blooded grub to Master while every other troll helped wrap things up and settle Aranea and Spinneret in their new lifestyle. Every troll lost sleep, ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the little grub as none of them had ever seen one before, oddly enough at 10 sweeps each.  


Dualscar's labor was more aggressive, but the second he laid eyes on his little grub and whispered out, “Cronus,” the aggression melted away. It had helped that the black-blooded grub that was the reason he was going through all the pain in the first place was whisked away to Master before he had the chance to see it.  


The night after Dualscar had Cronus, Condesce gave birth to Meenah in an equally aggressive procedure, a stark contrast to Grand's a week later which was nearly silent and eerily calm and produced a sleepy, quiet grub that he named Kurloz after a grubhood friend who had been beaten to death by Grand's mother's master. Darkleer gave birth to a rather scrawny little grub who he named Horuss. The last of the bunch to deliver was Redglare, who only allowed Spinneret near her but let everyone rush in when instead of a little grub cry after the black-blood was handed off, they heard a tiny giggle. Redglare couldn't contain her laughter, and soon the whole room was a laughing, teary mess as the new grub was cradled in her mother's arms, happily named Latula.  


Each of his friends had settled in with their grubs in their own ways. Parenting was something it seemed only colored-blooded trolls had instincts for, probably evolutionary necessity at this point, but the sheer amount of platonic pity in the six slave houses was almost astonishing. New stories arose every night at the combined dinner table and grubs were cooed over by everyone. Nobody spoke of the approaching breeding period while they could have these moments of joy.  


But time keeps moving on regardless of anyone's wants or needs and soon enough, Dolorosa was summoned, bred, and sent back to her little home without so much as a single tear. The same could not be said of Psiioniic or Handmaid, who had tears of rage streaming down their faces as they shifted uncomfortably in their gait from the discomfort of the plugs they would wear for two days and two nights. Disciple and Summoner cried, but softly and resignedly. They knew that regardless of their own feelings, the situation was out of their control.  


Signless knew there was a better way to live than this. He remembered the stories of old, of a society where no person was enslaved, and had even heard rumors of life on other planets where there was no difference in how a person was treated based on any part of their body. He knew something needed to change, his entire line could not be enslaved like this. Not his grub, or his grub's grubs, or their grubs even. But he was powerless.  


As he laid on his sleeping platform, he felt Master's genetic material sloshing around in him disgustingly and he grimaced. Two days he would be forced to stay in his quarters with a plug between his legs. He knew, he really did, that he had no more right to be angry than the rest of his peers in this strange little village but he wanted to scream and curse and make a racket in a way that none of them had, make the world listen to his suffering and frustration. Why did this have to be him?  


He quickly gave up on trying to get comfortable laying down because of the disgusting liquid seeping into his insides deeper by the minute, so instead he gingerly covered himself with his blanket, staring over at the wall of his quarters that he had faced when he flopped down and glared with all of his might. He projected all of his hate and anger and despair at the wood and though it didn't seem to help get rid of the emotions, the focus calmed his thoughts enough to let him slowly drift off to an unhappy sleep.  


Dolorosa brought him breakfast. She had only taken her plug out four days ago and was already confined to housework during working hours, but she made the time before her longer walk to the house on the hill to sneak some biscuits and honeybutter to Signless. She sat at the end of his platform and he ate laying down, making a horrible mess but not bringing himself to care. She knew that it was no use to try and calm him with her words, so instead she hoped her presence would be as calming as it could be. When he had finished, she folded the handkerchief she had brought them in to the waistband of her skirt and leaned down. She saw how lost Signless' eyes looked, how scared and angry they were, and so she brushed the hair out of his face, kissed him on the forehead and smiled.  


“You will be alright, dear,” she whispered, gently patting his cheek before standing to leave. She almost missed the faint reply as she reached the door.  


“I can't, 'Rosa, I...”  


She turned back to him for a fleeting moment and muttered, “You will be a wonderful father,” as if her saying the words themselves would make them true.  


Signless really hoped it would.  


\-----

  


It slopped out of him like congealed oinkbeast blood when he was finally given the go-ahead to remove that damned plug. He was glad that the others had warned him to do so under the running water of his ablution trap. He groaned, disgusted at the feeling of the slimy dripping and could not wait for this to never, ever happen to him again. Of course, that was out of his control, but it didn't stop him from hoping. The opposite, rather.  


By the time he finally felt clean, his small amount of time before supper was used up and he had to dry himself off quickly and dress to make it to the commonhouse for food. By the time he arrived, grubs had already been dished their mush by Dolorosa and Condesce watched over the six of them as everyone else got their food and a portion for her. Signless had to admit, the grubs were all very, very cute. Their little squeaks, whimpers, and trills as they ate their fill were not lost amongst the slaves' chatter, but a welcome addition that always had one or two trolls looking to them with a soft smile on their face before they turned back to their own conversation.  


Signless was the last in line for food, but he didn't mind. With Disciple in charge tonight, she had portioned everything out perfectly so there would be enough left for everyone. She was always good that way when it was her turn in the kitchen. Signless couldn't say the same for himself. He was horrible at cooking and Dolorosa stepped in to help more often than not. He nodded his thanks to the troll who handed him a bowl and a spoon before following her to the long table to eat. He hadn't really been eating since a day or so before the breeding, even with Rosa bringing him meals and forcing him to attend suppers. He simply didn't have an appetite.  


Today was no different. He found himself pushing his stew around in his bowl, barely eating it when he was elbowed in the side by Psiioniic. “Hey, dork, you have to actually put it in your mouth for it to fill you up, thupid,” he said, exaggeratedly demonstrating the eating process to who he could easily call his best friend.  


Signless rolled his eyes but chuckled. “I know, Psii. I'm just not hungry.” Psiioniic shook his head and ate a mouthful of his own stew.  


Across the table, Dualscar scoffed. “Well enjoy it while it lasts. Pret'y soon you won't be able ta get enough, an' nothin' you find will be what you want ta eat.”  


Beside him, Redglare nodded ruefully. “Gog, I love Latula, but I don't miss it a single bit. All she wanted was celery. I hate celery!” Spinneret laughed beside her and Redglare quickly elbowed her. “It's not funny! You went through it, too!”  


“Yes, but my grub had some brains and didn't complain when I ignored some of her demands. It's why I'm the mom, naturally, and Aranea is the grub.”  


Signless let the conversation continue on, but he knew that this wasn't natural for trolls. He remembered the stories. Trolls didn't always breed, and they certainly weren't always in situations like this. There was never a history of slavery in Alternia before the black-bloods came along. They were all acting like this was normal, that this was okay. Sure, they loved their grubs – Signless saw that day in and day out without question – but they never acted like none of it should have happened this way, like they were raped and their children were the product of such a violent act that...that...  


The rage boiled up in him and as a chorus of laughter erupted at one of Summoner's jokes, he snapped. He shoved his bowl away and stormed out of the place. He couldn't stand it. All of them happy and talking and laughing and all of them slaves, forced to work under their rapist who owned them by law for the rest of their days and carry his grubs when he so chose. He couldn't decide what he hated the most.


	3. Ortus

It had been three perigees and Signless had already thrown up enough for his entire life. He never used to mind getting sick, but now that it was every single morning without fail, sometimes even the middle of the night, he couldn't help but curse the damn grubs growing steadily inside him. At least the black one deserved it.  


This morning was only different in that he had made it up to the house with Psiioniic before he felt queasy, even making it through his friend's tale of his own sickness earlier before dawn. While the other five worked to prep a massive breakfast for Master and his six little grubs and their lusii, Signless was hunched over in the kitchen garden, retching.  


It took him ten whole minutes to collect himself enough to go inside and help out, wishing he could just vomit the damn things inside of him out and not have to deal with this for nine more perigees.  


\-----

  


It had been six perigees and he was positive he was not getting as large as the others. The others were mostly taller than him, anyway, but it didn't seem to match in proportion. Maybe he really should have been eating more? He didn't mention it to anyone, though. He didn't want it to seem like he actually cared about this. It was his job, nothing more, simply something he would be culled for not doing or for protesting against, even.  


It wasn't like he was worried about the little red one at all, knowing he almost didn't make it as a grub and how much trouble he had as a child with sickness. No. He just, didn't think it was normal. That was all.  


\-----

  


It had been nine perigees and he was done. He was absolutely done with this. He just wanted somebody to cut these little fuckers out of him and let him bleed to death because there was no way in hell it was worth it. It was hard enough to have half of the adult trolls on the property working in the house and unable to help outside, let alone having them move like snails because their normal walking had turned to waddling with hands behind their backs. It took Psiioniic and Signless minutes to get out of a chair. Minutes. Dolorosa was lucky that she just got to sit and darn socks all day and never had to worry about getting in and out of chairs.  


The only redeeming part, now that he had more than caught up in belly size, was that Signless was certain that when nobody was around in the middle of the night and he would hum a tune, one of his little grubs would move their little feet and he was sure they were dancing.  


He was certain, however, the other one hated him, because he essentially couldn't move a muscle without the other kicking him to pieces from the inside out. He cursed that grub with all of his might and prayed to Gog it was the black-blood so he would never have to see it's evil little face for the rest of his life, the little shit.  


\-----

  


It had been ten perigees and Signless woke with a start when he felt something rushing between his legs. He couldn't bolt upright anymore but a tentative and frightened hand reached down in his sleepy terror and confirmed the worst of his fears. It was only ten perigees and this was happening two perigees too soon. He did the only thing he could think of doing. He let out a scream.  


The pain started soon after that. He shoved the edge of the pillow in his mouth to give himself something to bite down on but his screams were only lightly muffled. Something was horribly, horribly wrong and it hurt it hurt it hurt oh dear Gog in bubbles, it hurt! He couldn't help but let the screams out and panting hard as tears started to escape his eyes.  


He didn't know when the others arrived, and couldn't even place who they were if he tried, but there was someone between his legs, tugging his pants off and another holding him down, and a third with a hand on his head.  


“Two perigees early?”  


“He's burning up.”  


“Fetch some water and cloths, quick!”  


“I need someone's help down here.”  


“Clean hands!”  


He couldn't make out who was who or what was happening. All he knew was that it hurt and now there was something cold against his forehead. He whimpered, pillow still in his mouth with another troll propping him up.  


He couldn't tell what they were doing between his legs, but at least one troll was whispering encouraging things in his ear and telling him what to do as he complied to the best of his ability. He couldn't tell how long this went on, but he was told he was doing great and to keep trying, keep going, don't give up now.  


He didn't. He didn't for a very long time, but the pain only grew and before he knew it, he felt himself slipping, losing consciousness. He stopped being able to feel anything at all but the pain and he knew he must be losing a lot of blood at this point. He was terrified for a whole mess of reasons that his body didn't want to sort out and all he wanted to do was to give up, to make the pain go away and let the world go with it. For a split second, all Signless Vantas wanted to do was die.  


But then, a sharp sensation rolled from the apex of his legs, POW then POW-POW and a wave of relief flooded over him. Hormones began rushing through his body in a quick attempt to erase his memory and flood him with euphoria. He was a sweaty, bloody, stinking mess and there were too many people around to witness it, but when he looked up to see something moving toward his chest, his eyes managed to focus on the sweetest face he had ever seen in the entire world.  


There was a little mop of black hair atop a tiny grey head and a bright red grub thorax squirming in Dolorosa's hands before it was being set on his chest, right above his heart – and, whoa, when did he get naked? – looking up at him as he looked down at it. It seemed they were both in shock because aside from his unleveled breathing, there was no sound in the entire room.  


“Oh...” he whispered, looking at the grub on his chest and raising his arms to cradle it there. The grub? His grub.  


“What do we call him, Signless?” someone, it didn't matter who, whispered from behind him. He didn't care who asked. His eyes were locked with the tiny, too tiny creature's eyes. Red as bright as the most beautiful rubies he could even imagine and they were so, so beautiful. Nothing in the world was as perfect as his little, too little grub.  


“K-kankri. Kankri Vantas.”  


“Well, Kankri,” a voice he would have a hard time not connecting to his best friend intoned next to him from the other side, “you're early, thilly.”


	4. Acerbumdulce

He had been filled in later on the details. After both he and the grub had passed out in exhaustion and while he had slept for nearly twelve hours, Dolorosa took watch over Kankri. It seemed the grub was a calm sleeper and hadn't needed care from her in the time Signless was indisposed. Later, though, when he did wake, he was congratulated on the successful premature birth of not two, but three grubs. Two large, healthy black-blooded twins and his little Kankri, still healthy but definitely on the smaller side.  


Apparently, Master was thrilled.  


Signless, however, was being held together by stitches and would be visited by a black-blood physician later in the day to make sure everything would be able to heal properly, as none of the slave-trolls were really medically trained and had only done the best they could. Signless didn't mind, though. Even through the uncomfortable visit with the physician, he was fine as long as Kankri was in his arms or nearby and breathing his calm, tiny breaths.  


He was a little more than nervous when he was told he would need to be on bedrest for two perigees more, and no work of any physical kind until three. Still, he was assured via a written message from Master that, what with the successful birth of black-blooded twins, he should be resting and he could simply do a large share of the mending by himself for the time being until he could come back to work.  


He decided, still exhausted, that he didn't want to process anything just yet. He swaddled Kanrki up like Dolorosa had taught him and nestled the little warm bundle next to him on his platform, falling into a happy sleep with his calm, happy little grub.  


\-----

  


Signless understood, now. At least, he thought he understood. There was no way in hell he would stop being mad at the universe for deciding he had to go through so much pain to get Kankri in his life, but he didn't regret anything. He understood the looks that the other trolls gave their grubs, the pure joy in which they told their stories of parenthood, because now, he felt that too.  


Kankri was adorable. From his messy mop of black hair, to his little tiny horn buds, and his face was just so precious. His sleeping patterns hadn't changed from day one. Kankri was by far the best sleeper of all the grubs in the village, but from the moment he woke up, he would not stay quiet. At least, for the most part, he stayed where he was set, but his little grub trills and squawks were on the move as if he had something important to say right now and screw the fact that he couldn't say words, his father would understand him, right? Signless, for the most part, didn't understand, but some of the expressions creeping on to Kankri's face were the most precious mimic of adult faces that he had ever seen. He thought he even saw a look he would call, “condescending,” at one point or another.  


When Kankri was angry, the entire plantation probably knew about it. The little premature grub had a set of lungs to be rivaled and used them to his fullest extent when he was angry. When he was sad, on the other hand, he got quiet. He seemed afraid to cry, though he couldn't exactly stop himself from doing so; he was only a grub, after all. It was those moments that Signless' heart turned into 100%, absolute mush. He would gather the grub into his arms and coo, petting the little one's hair and singing softly songs that he had heard when he was a grub or the songs that they would sing out in the fields.  


After being on bedrest for a week, Signless was restless beyond belief. Kankri was still content to say within range but he wasn't sure how long that would last. Each morning, one of the still-heavy-laden trolls would bring him a basket with all of the mending and fashioning work for the day and he would do it, off-and-on taking care of his little one when he would fuss. He found himself having full-on conversations with the grub, even though he wasn't sure that Kankri's comments meant anything or even had anything to do with his interjections of, “Oh, is that so?” or “Kankri, you shouldn't say things about Master like that!” or most often, “No way! Tell me more, I simply have to know!”  


Some nights, it was harder than others. He would hear all of the cheer in the common house at the end of the row and miss it dearly, clutching a sleeping Kankri to his chest. Once, he confessed this to Dolorosa on one of her visits to bring them their food, his normal stew and Kankri's mush. She had smacked him upside the head and rolled her eyes, chiding him for not telling her sooner.  


After that, every single night he had a supper mate. The ones with grubs would bring theirs along with them. Depending on the day, Kankri seemed to have friends. If Kankri never shut up for Signless, he really never shut up for the other grubs. Cronus was the only one who would talk back in their own little grub language, while the others simply put up with the constant background noise as they ate their mush and played. Unless, of course, one of them hurt the other. Kankri would seethe rage from his tiny little body while the others would cry or fuss.  


It actually only took one wrong touch to set Kankri off the wrong way. And, by wrong touch, that really meant any touch from anyone besides Signless and Dolorosa. For some reason, Kankri really hated being touched. Signless wasn't sure why but he wasn't going to press it. The only thing he would get in response if he tried to question the grub would be a long strain of squawks and trills that he most certainly did not understand.  


And even though the early birth had taken a lot out of him, Signless was really grateful that he had three whole perigees to spend with his grub before work would take him back and he would have to leave his grub in the care of one of the other trolls. He cuddled his grub to his chest as he slept at night and was at peace.  


\-----

  


Signless would be damned if he missed the birth of his best friend's grub. It was his last perigee of recovery time and he was at least allowed to leave his hive now. He wasn't supposed to do anything truly physical, but when Dolorosa called out in their little village that Psiioniic went into labour, he had bundled a tired Kankri up in a sling on his back in no time and made his way a few hives down to where he could see psionics crackling through the small window. When he got there, he noticed that Handmaid and Disciple were missing, probably necessary since they had just given birth to Damara and Muelin respectively a few days prior. But everyone else was there.  


Psiioniic was silent, his pain only manifesting in a colorful light show of sparks flying around the room. Condesce stood at the ready to grab the black-blood and go, and Dolorosa was between the slave's legs, ready for the yellow. Signless vaguely remembered his friend at his side when Kankri was born, the after-birth hormones fogging his memory to a point but a few things still clear. Determined, he make his way through the small crowd of trolls to Psiioniic's side, careful not to knock the grub on his back against anything as he sat down next to the troll.  


“Hey, Psii, I'm here,” he murmured into his friend's ear, rubbing his shoulder gently. He moved to grasp his friend's hand, but instead both of his hands were grasped by psionics and the light show dimmed considerably, now that he had something he trusted to hold on to. Signless knew this. He'd known his friend long enough to know what he needed, and so he just kept murmuring, “I've got you, Psii. I'm here.”  


The birth itself was textbook. One black-blood, whisked away as quickly as possible and one yellow blood, dried off and bundled against Psii's chest. Tiny little crackles of psionics came from the grub's eyes and Psii couldn't help but smile and laugh. “Oh, Mituna,” he whispered. “Finally, thomebody with powerth jutht like me.”  
Signless chuckled. “Let's hope he doesn't get the lisp.”  


“I am way too tired to hit you right now, Thinleth, but trutht me. You detherve it.”  


\-----

  


Just after New Sweep's, the first six grubs began to pupate. It was almost a relief for all of the adult slave trolls because in their perigee of inaction, more work could get done. There was less stress leaving them in someone else's care for the day while their parents took care of their duties. The recovery period for all those who had just had grubs was done and everything went back to the way it had been before the breeding period, except that one troll was now on grubsitting duty all day so that meant one less worker in the house. It wasn't a big deal, and the nine trolls working the plantation grounds were a blessing as opposed to the six that had been on duty for a sweep. Tea was getting churned out at its original rate and everything was running smoothly.  


A perigee later, Meenah was the first to emerge from her cocoon and her mother cackled with joy, to which the wriggler cackled in return and the two were a laughing mess, with a few tears here and there. Dolorosa had whipped up tiny clothes for the newly pupated wrigglers and soon, Meenah was running around her and Condesce's hive, exploring everything as if for the first time. She still couldn't talk, but the trills and babbles were more troll than grub and they were sure she would be talking in no time.  


Latula and Kurloz emerged on the same day, during the middle of the day, causing a bit of a bump in the workday schedule, but the adult trolls were fine picking up Redglare and Grand's slack for the importance of the day. It was almost a week later, and conveniently on a Sunday, when Horuss emerged early in the day and Aranea followed in the middle of the night.  


Cronus emerged in his own time, rubbing at irritated gills until Dualscar caught on and took him down to the creek. Father and son spent the entire day swimming around to calm Cronus' gills down but the matching smiles on their faces were unmistakable. Dualscar didn't really smile for anyone, except maybe a grimace or two at Spinneret. Cronus' smile, as their strange little village learned, was pretty contagious. Dualscar never hesitated to smile for him.  


With both wrigglers and grubs in the village, things got a lot harder than the trolls anticipated. It was a seriously tough job watching them all. Wrigglers did just that, wriggle. They ran around the place, played harder and crashed harder than grubs, who would scurry around a bit but couldn't do very much. Making sure the wrigglers were nice with the grubs was a difficult task in its own right, especially since grubs didn't have the capacity to see when they were about to get knocked over or stepped on and the wrigglers didn't have the capacity to look where they were going half of the time, too absorbed in their play. The job of watching them all was almost considered the worst one on the plantation, and when a troll came up in the rotation to do so, they groaned without fail. Sure, the grubs and wrigglers were cute. But they were more work than plucking tea leaves in the scorching sun.  


Eleven perigees later, the other six grubs began to pupate. The wrigglers, learning to speak still rather far off, were fascinated as they watched and were told that this had happened to them just a few months ago. Tiny hands reached out gently to touch their friends' cocoons and parents smiled at the wonder and shock on their wriggler's faces. They made sure, however, that when the grubs emerged, the wrigglers were not around. It was a sight to see for any adult troll, let alone a wriggler.  


The little village woke with a start when Mituna split his cocoon in half with his psionics in the middle of the night, shocking three other cocoons into emerging at the same time. At once, the wriggler count rose from six to ten and it was nearly a madhouse. Signless was pleased on the inside that his little one had been kind enough to wait a little longer until everyone had settled to emerge. Six wrigglers was already a handfull, but with Mituna, Damara, Meulin, and Rufioh now in the mix, it was nice to put Porrim and Kanrki off for just a little bit longer.  


And then, Porrim emerged a few days later and Dolorosa noticed something in Signless shift, a worry clouding his presence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe, comment and tell me what you think? Yeah?


	5. Paulo Manus

A week passed.  


Two weeks passed.  


Three weeks passed, and Kankri had still not emerged.  


Signless watched bitterly as the rest of the trolls went on with their lives with their wrigglers and started carrying Kankri's cocoon in his grub-sling on his back or chest whenever he wasn't asleep. The other trolls tiptoed around him except Psiioniic and Dolorosa, who tried their best to comfort him. None of it worked though. The only thing that would work would be Kankri emerging so Signless could see his beautiful mop of hair again and those little tiny horns and bright red eyes. Even his incessant trilling would be welcomed.  


“He wath early, Thinleth,” Psiioniic would tell him. “Maybe he'th compenthating.”  


Signless hoped so.  


\-----

  


It was almost a full perigree after Kankri should have emerged when he decided to, and he certainly had something to say about it. Signless woke to the cocoon splitting on his bed beside him and a rather annoyed wriggler emerging, catching sight of his father and rushing toward him, babbling the whole time about who-knows-what. Signless cried tears of joy into that little mop of hair that he had missed so much and noticed that Kankri's horns were little nubby horns just like his. He smiled and cried to Kankri's babbling for most of the night.  


\-----

  


It takes a hivestem to raise a wriggler, they say.  


It definitely takes a village of trolls to even come close to raising twelve rambunctious wrigglers.  


Time seemed to fly by so fast, ridiculously fast, now that every little one was pupated and walking around like a little mini version of their parent. After they all emerged, their growth differences seemed to even out and they all began to develop at relatively the same time. This was particularly ridiculous and cute when they started to talk.  


At first, it was just little conversations with half-words between wriggler and parent, or wriggler and wriggler. Soon, it was half-sentences. And before they knew it, their wrigglers were talking in pretty full sentences and actually making sense.  


Unfortunately, this meant they were old enough to do a little work. When Master got wind of their little words, he gave his orders to have them weed the house garden and the fields with their parents. It was a rough transition from being able to play all day with a little supervision to having to work all day with a midday nap. At least they got to spend time with their parents, though. Most of them counted it as a blessing.  


With all the extra little hands to help on the plantation, Master began to expand his assets to other businesses. He became chiefly involved with the interplanetary stock market, often heading out on business trips to ‘Earth’ as the trolls heard it mentioned, which took a lot of stress off his plantation to be his major income. It allowed jobs to get a little less rigorous. Now, Condesce and Dualscar were able to spend most of their workdays on the nearby river with their wrigglers, catching fresh fish and selling it for profit at the local market. Nobody had to know that they sometimes smuggled a little bit of their catch to their friends for dinner on occasion.  


Overall, things were fine. Parenting was becoming the pride and joy of many of the trolls, as work became less stressful and the looming threat of punishment faded into the background.  


\-----

  


“Papa?”  


“Yes, Kankri?” The two were sitting together in front of the little fireplace in their hive, folding the slave laundry for the week. Well, mostly Signless was. Kankri's little hands fumbled a little at some of the clothing, so Signless only gave him the towels and roughly square or rectangular pieces to fold. He was only two sweeps, after all. He didn't need to become a model worker just yet. They had time.  


“Why are our eyes red?”  


“Because you and I have red blood. Just like how Latula and Redglare have teal eyes. They have teal blood.”  


“Why do we have different colors of blood?”  


“I don't know, Kankri. We're all different. Different is good, though. You wouldn't want to be just the same as all your friends, would you?”  


“No, that would be boring.”  


“Exactly.”  


They sat in a content silence for a while before Kankri piped up again with, “But then why does Master get to be so important because he has black eyes and black blood?”  


Signless didn't know how to answer that. He of course knew the answer. He remembered the stories. But was Kankri old enough to hear them?  


“Well, that is a long story, Kankri. Perhaps another time.”  


“Why not now?”  


“Maybe when you're older, little one.” Kankri huffed but seemed to accept the answer for the time being. They managed to finish the laundry and separate it into the twelve different baskets for the twelve different hives to come and pick up in the morning. Signless settled the baskets by the door, too large for Kankri to lift and maneuver, when he felt a little hand tug on his pants. Looking down at his son, he smiled. He was just too cute.  


“It's been almost an hour, Papa. I counted. I'm an hour older. Can I hear the story now?" The look Kankri gave his father made the adult troll melt on the inside, but the innocent look in the wriggler's eyes made it clear that Signless couldn't tell him. Not now. He should keep his innocence a while longer, he decided. It was too soon.  


"No, little one. It's a story for another day," he said, glancing out at the sky. "Right now, it's time for you to go to bed."  


Kankri didn't protest against his father. He never did. He was nothing if not a good wriggler for his father and never once stood against rules that were for the best. He was like that with everyone, all of the other adults and the very few times he had met Master. For this, Signless was thankful. Sure, maybe it took Kankri a long time to be quiet but for the most part, he was obedient. That way, he didn’t have to worry about Kankri getting punished or hurt in any way. He had sweeps before he had to worry about Kankri going through the horrors he did.  


For now, he could still protect him.  


And for now, that was enough.  


Instead of fighting it, Kankri ran off to the ablution block and stood on the little apple crate by the sink to wash his face and hands under Signless’ watchful eye. He brushed his teeth with enthusiasm, showing his father as many as he could for inspection before being allowed to put his toothbrush away and scampering off to the little bed they shared over on the other side of the hive. Signless chuckled as his son snuggled up into the quilt that Dolorosa had made him for his second wriggling day -- she had made all the wrigglers blankets, but none seemed so attached to theirs as Kankri was to his -- and looked at him expectantly.  


“Papa?”  


“Yes, Kankri?”  


“A story?”  


Signless smiled and laid down on the bed beside his son in the fading light of the fire, cuddling the little body close to his and letting him rest his little head on his chest. “Alright, which one do you want to hear? Troll Cinderella? Troll Rumplestiltskin? The Little Seadweller?”  


“Nuh-uh, a new story, Papa!”  


“A new story? About what?”  


Kankri’s face twisted up in thought and Signless had to suppress a chuckle. “About...me!”  


“About you?”  


“Yes!”  


“Well, alright. Let me think…” Signless ran a hand through his son’s hair, gently scratching his scalp in a way he knew the wriggler loved, that always calmed him and made him sleepy. He needed rest. He would have to be up at dawn just like his father, eating a meager breakfast before heading out into the fields for the day.  


“Once upon a time,” the adult troll began. “There was a handsome troll of nine sweeps named Kankri Vantas.”  


“But I’m only this many!” Kankri help up two fingers just above the top of his blanket cocoon.  


“Yes, but this is about you in the future. When you’re all grown up, like me.”  


“Ooooooh.”  


“This handsome troll was very smart, smarter than any troll for miles around. He knew absolutely everything there was to know and everyone came to him for advice when they had a problem. Everyone liked him and everyone was his friend.” Signless heard his son’s breathing slow and knew he wouldn’t have long before the wriggler was asleep. “One day, he met another troll who loved him for all that he was -- smart, chatty, a little bit naiive -- and they fell in love. They did everything together and were absolutely inseparable. Nobody tried, because everyone thought their love was so pure.” Slower breathing, Kankri probably wasn’t even listening anymore. “And they were able to be happy, just like their parents always wished for them.” Kankri was definitely asleep now. Poor wriggler, he must have been exhausted. “The End.”  


As Signless lay there thinking, he wasn’t sure why he was surprised that Kankri was questioning him about things. That was all Kankri ever did, really, as long as it wasn’t about orders or rules. He wanted to understand the world. Signless got that. All the other wrigglers were like that, too, but not nearly so much as Kankri. For the most part, he answered the child's questions but this one? Signless wasn't sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, mayhaps?


	6. Pro Filiorum

There was no way in spore-rotting hell Signless could answer his son's questions.  


After finishing up other duties, he joined his son in bed. There was talk of getting another bed for each wriggler, but for now, they were still sharing with their parents. It would be up to master in the end. But Signless cherished these moments, his son cuddled into him at night, warm and soft wriggler skinned hands clutching him. He settled in as usual and was sleeping quite well.  


But his dream. His dream was enough to scare anyone, regardless of personal content, and it struck Signless right to his core. He dreamt of a room. Not just any room. He dreamt of the small guest room in the main house with the odd coupling structure, all wood and metal to strap down colored bloods for breeding, to minimize struggle. But for all the dreams he had of this horrible place, memories haunting him in his sleep really, he had never once dreamed of anything this terrifying.  


He saw the structure. He saw Master leaning over a troll and getting down to business. He heard the soft cries and sniffles of the slave, but this wasn't his usual out-of-body nightmare in which he witnessed his rape vividly, over and over again. He didn't want to look, didn't want to know who was strapped down, or why he was there, but it seemed that the room shifted and he was forced closer, to see what was happening.  


The slave was crying, shouting out, "No! Please! Stop! Papa, help!" It's voice was so familiar but also so different from anything he had heard. It pulled on his heartstrings, hard. He was drawn to the scene in disgust and an inner drive to protect the person on the glorified bench at all costs.  


No, this troll wasn't him, but there was red mixing with black and looking into the face of the slave, sharp wails being drawn from his mouth as he was taken by force, he saw...Kankri.  


Signless stumbled back as the older version of his son turned to look at him with a wet face, a face in anguish. "Papa," he whispered, pain seeping into his voice freely, "h-help me!" But he couldn't he reached out but it wasn't enough. He couldn't reach. His arms would not extend far enough and his legs refused his demands to get closer and make up for the failure of his arms. Kankri cried, shouted, pleaded for help, and Signless struggled to reach him.  


He was powerless.  


Signless woke with a start, horrified, tears drying on his own face as he panicked. But looking down he saw that his small child was still cuddled up with him, safely asleep with no knowledge of the room and the horrors that await there.  


Signless would do everything in his power to keep it that way.  


\-----

  


Their wrigglers were ushered off to play with the others while Signless, Dolorosa, Psiioniic, and Disciple met in Dolorosa’s hive. There was very little free time between working hours and supper but none of them was on cooking duty that night so they supposed they would have plenty of time. Signless had stewed all day about his dream, reliving it in his mind more times than he cared to admit. Now, he vocalized his fears to the saddened faces of his friends, nearly weeping by the end of his tale.  


“Is that why you called us here, Signless? For support?” Disciple asked, cupping the other’s hand is his.  


But Signless shook his head. “No. I called you here because I can’t just let that happen to my little Kankri, to my own wriggler. If I’m going down, I’m going down fighting. I want you all to fight with me.”  


Dolorosa shook her head. “Signless, that is admirable and I know that you have the best intentions in mind, but perhaps you ought to think about this more than what you already have.” Signless looked up at his friend, shocked for a moment. He had expected Dolorosa to question him about his plans, but not to shut them down so quickly as she was now. Nevertheless, he was silent, allowing her to continue. “I understand that Kankri means the world to you -- I feel the same way with Porrim, as I am sure Psiioniic feels about Mituna and Disciple, Meulin.”  


She took a deep breath and sighed, looking toward the window, out of which the wrigglers could be seen running around and playing some sort of game together, all twelve smiling, soft faces, innocent to their current position. “Perhaps, whatever you plan to do succeeds. Your wriggler is free to live his life without fear of abuse. Even if your plan does not entirely fail, perhaps you will not survive whatever act of rebellion you have thought up, and then what of the wrigglers?” She continued to watch the children out the window, the others as contemplative as she. “What if you, or I, or Disciple, or Psiioniic are sold elsewhere, or killed? What will happen to the wrigglers?”  


The hive was silent as the weight of Dolorosa’s words sunk in. Finally, Psiioniic spoke up. “The’th right, Thinleth. We’re in one fuck of a pickle, becauthe the wrigglerth need uth to protect them…”  


“But truly protecting them,” Disciple added, “would be just as risky. They could lose us as we tried to help them, and then we’d have gotten nowhere.”  


Signless took a deep breath. They were all right. He couldn’t just change the world overnight, and he certainly couldn’t do it with such little planning for Kankri should he fail. “You’re right. They do need us, and we can’t do anything now, but perhaps...when they’ve grown, before they’ll be bred?” The others looked up at him, curiosity and intrigue painting their faces, caution etched into Dolorosa’s eyes. “Then, should I die, Kankri would not need me anymore. But if I could succeed, he would be free. They all would.”  


Dolorosa held up a hand as she saw excitement and hope flood the others’ faces. “What exactly are you proposing, Signless?”  


“Abolition.” The hive was silent a moment as Signless let the word ring out to the rest of the room. “I’ve heard the word around the town when I run errands. It means the end of slavery, the end of all of this horrible life. There’s a better way to do things and abolition is the answer. We have to make slavery illegal.”  


“It can’t be done,” Psiioniic said, shaking his head. “Thith ith how thingth have been for tho, tho long. Nothing could pothibly change it now, at leatht not on that huge of a thcale.”  


“But no slavery existed on Alternia before the black-bloods came along, and that lasted for centuries more than this has! It’s not the natural state of troll society, and there’s no reason we can’t improve. And haven’t you heard the stories of other planets with no slaves at all?”  


Signless looked around at the faces of his friends. He saw the caution evident in their expressions, and to be fair, he was worried, too. What if they did fail? Certainly, they would be executed. At the very least, severely punished and sold to slave breakers. They would never have as much freedom as they had now, again. They would never see their wrigglers again.  


But if they succeeded, it meant an infinitely better life for their wrigglers that they could never have dreamed of having without such a risk being taken. It meant hope, and freedom, and a world of possibilities they had never had for themselves.  


Still, the wrigglers were so young now, just under three sweeps. There was no way this could happen for at least another five sweeps. “I’m not asking you all to jump into action with me now,” Signless said, looking between his friends, “But please, for the sake of the wrigglers...consider it for a sweep or two?”  


At first, they were all still, until Psiioniic nodded, grasping his best friend’s hand. “Okay. For Mituna, I’ll definitely conthider it.”  


“Yes, for the wrigglers and their futures,” Disciple agreed.  


They all looked expectantly at Dolorosa, as if her support would make or break the potential plan building between them in the small hive. Finally, she nodded, glancing back out the window and smiling lightly. “For the wrigglers.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment? Or maybe head over to my tumblr (taylothlorien.tumblr.com) and have a chat with me?


	7. Parva Rade

Kankri didn’t like tag. All the others always insisted on playing tag but he didn’t want to play tag. He wanted to listen to stories his papa would tell him, or sometimes even Miss Maryam, and he supposed it didn’t really matter what he was doing as long as it wasn’t running around to be out of breath and tired before supper even came. Then how could he eat all of his food for his papa and do anything before bedtime? Tag was stupid, Kankri thought, and he knew he was right.  


He wouldn’t have played, either, if Cronus hadn’t begged him to play with them, making Mituna beg, which made Latula beg too. He couldn’t say no, then. It would be mean and his papa always told him to never, never, ever, never be mean.  


He didn’t know where his papa was, either, but Mister Ampora was watching them all and so Kankri was pretty sure his papa had left him safely. Cronus always said how his “dad” was the coolest in the village, but Kankri didn’t think that was what “cool” meant. Kankri didn’t think Cronus used half of his words right but he didn’t want to bring it up because what if that hurt Cronus’ feelings? His papa told him to never, never, ever, never be mean and hurting Cronus’ feelings would definitely be mean, he decided. So he let Cronus say whatever he wanted. Except when he would pick on Porrim, and Porrim would pick on him back. Then Kankri told them to stop, because they were his friends and friends are nice to each other, right? That’s what his papa told him.  


Right now, Meenah was “It” and all of them were running from her. Kankri wasn’t as tall as some of the others and he was a little bit slow, but Meenah didn’t seem to be going after him as much as the others. Otherwise Kankri would always be “It” and that wouldn’t be fun for anyone. Kankri stopped his running for a moment, watching Meenah chase Aranea around one of the trees by the commonhouse, and tried to catch his breath. He didn’t see Porrim but Mituna and Latula were snickering from behind another tree, hiding from Meenah, and Cronus was probably somewhere around, he reasoned. Lost in his thoughts, he didn’t see Meenah approaching him for a moment, so when she started to get close, he startled and began to run. Maybe if he ran all the way past Latula and Mituna’s tree, Meenah would tag one of them instead of him.  


He took off running, barely glancing over his shoulder to see how far away Meenah was. She was gaining on him. He just had to make it to the tree, he told himself. He ran and ran with all his might, but Meenah caught up with him too fast. She was taller than him and faster than him, and her joyful laughter got louder as she got closer before finally, she tagged him, shouting, “You’re it!”  


But the shove was too much when Kankri was running on the rocky dirt, and he stumbled, trying to catch himself before he fell, skidding on his knees in the gravelly filth of the path between the slave hives. All Kankri knew was that his knees and hands really hurt, really bad. The laughter was dying down and he looked down at his hands and knees, sitting on his butt in the path, and saw red.  


He screamed. It stung, really bad! Ow, ow, ow! He wanted his papa!  


Mituna and Latula stood staring at him before Mituna ran away shouting, “Mister Vantas! Mister Vantas!” and Kankri couldn’t see very well anymore because his tears were coming out and he hurt too bad to care. He thought he heard Porrim by him asking if he was okay, so he shook his head harshly and curled himself over his ouchie knees.  


“Wow, Kankri. It’s just a scrape! Don’t be such a grub!” Meenah taunted. Kankri didn’t look up at her but kept crying into his knees, which kind of made them hurt worse.  


“Stop it, Meenah!” Cronus said, and Kankri thought he heard somebody being shoved. “You cried when you scraped your hand on that crawfish yesterday.”  


Meenah sniffed. “Whatever. Landdwellers are such grubs.” Kankri heard somebody stomping off and then another hand was on his shoulder.  


“Don’t worry, Kanny. ‘Tuna went to get your dad,” Cronus said.  


“Can I see it, Kanny?” Porrim asked, and even though Kankri wanted to shake his head, Porrim was pretty smart, so he uncurled himself a little and let her see his hands and knees. They were bloody and dirty, but they didn’t look as bad as they felt, he reasoned. “Don’t worry, my mom knows how to fix everything. Your dad will probably have her fix it all better!”  


“Th-thank you, Porrim,” Kankri sniffled, wiping his nose on his arm. Through his watery vision, he saw the door to Miss Maryam’s hive open. Mituna popped out and pointed frantically, and soon, Kankri saw his papa running toward him.  


“Kankri, what’s wrong? Did you scrape your knee?” his papa asked. Kankri really liked his papa’s voice because it was nice and kind but still strong. Kankri knew he was safe with him, so he nodded and mumbled, “and my hands,”  


“Well,” the older troll said, squatting down to see his son. “Let me see.” He examined the wounds, gently turning the wriggler’s limbs when he needed to. “This must hurt, huh?” Kankri nodded, and opened his mouth to speak, but Cronus piped up behind them both.  


“Porrim said that Miss Maryam could fix it all better, Mister Vantas! Is it true?”  


“Why yes, Cronus.” Signless smiled kindly at them, and Kankri really liked to see his papa smile. “Miss Maryam can fix anything. Let’s go see her, hm?” And before he knew it, Kankri was being scooped up and settled on his papa’s hip for the short walk to Miss Maryam’s. Porrim and Cronus followed behind them as Kankri rested his head on his father’s shoulder, and in no time, there were too many trolls, small and big, stuffed in Miss Maryam’s hive.  


“Come here, Kankri. Let me have a look at it.” Kankri didn’t like this many people looking at his ouchie knees and hands, but Miss Maryam was nice so he let her. “How did this happen?”  


“Well, we were playing tag even though I don’t like tag very much because my legs are shorter than everyone else’s because I’m shorter than everyone else so it’s hard to run as fast as they do, but they always want me to play and I can’t say no because that would be mean because Cronus wants me to play, and then Mituna says he wants me to play, too, so then Latula wants me to play because she wants Mituna to get what he wants and Mituna wants me to play because Cronus wants me to play, and I don’t really know why Cronus wants me to play, because I always get chased and I don’t like always being, ‘it’ but Meenah was chasing me and I thought that if I ran past Mituna and Latula she would tag one of them instead of tagging me, but she ran too fast and she tagged me but she pushed too hard because sometimes Meenah is mean because maybe her mama never told her to never, never, ever, never be mean like my papa did, and I fell on the ground too hard and hurt my hands and knees.”  


By the time Kankri had finished his speech, his wounds had been cleaned and dressed and he was simply sitting in a chair looking at Miss Maryam. “Well, Kankri. You’re all better, now, so how about you run along to the commonhouse with your friends. I’m sure supper is ready.”  


Kankri thought about that for a moment. His friends were pretty nice, and he liked them, but he was worried they would make him play another game, so instead he said, “No, I wanna go with Papa.” He looked up at his papa and smiled, and his papa smiled back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love when you guys drop feedback in the comments, so please do! And kudos are really nice. <3


	8. Frater Mutât

Signless was thankful that he got to take Kankri with him when he got to go to the market. When it was his turn in the rotation to go to town, Kankri was excited to see the world outside of the plantation and he was excited to see his wriggler’s face as it light up in surprise at new sights and sounds. It was the one time they got to drive a cart, and Kankri was too scared to take the hoofbeasts’ reigns but he did squeal in delight when his cries of, “Faster, papa! Let’s go faster!” were obliged.  


He made sure to keep Kankri close as they traversed between the stalls, checking off items on their list that Dolorosa had sent them for. At some point, Kankri ended up on his shoulders, but Signless didn’t mind. He knew that it was hard for the two-and-a-half sweep troll to see everything from his height and he didn’t mind the extra weight. He cherished these moments when he still could fit the wriggler on his shoulders.  


He felt a light tug on his hair as he was talking with a vendor and finished up his conversation as quickly as he could, giving in to the tug. “What is it, Kankri?”  


“What are those?” Kankri asked, pointing across the market to a stall filled with colorful, plush animals and monsters. It wasn’t uncommon to see trolls of all blood colors at market, but it was a little less likely to see a human. There was, however, a human sitting behind the table of toys. “I believe those are...puppets, Kankri.”  


“What’s a puppet?”  


“Would you like to go see?” The wriggler on his shoulders bounced excitedly and he chuckled. “Alright, we’re almost done with the list anyway. Let’s go see your puppets.”  


The two made their way to the puppet stall. Signless had been right about that much, at least. He had only ever seen toys at market around twelfth perigee and it was only fourth perigee now. Huh. Signless examined the human, looked like male, behind the stall as they walked up. He was wearing shaded spectacles in a shape Signless had never seen before, but he was not very familiar with humans. He had only met a few in his lifetime.  


The human seemed to take no notice of them as they approached, but the swiftness that the man stood up and extended his hand for a shake was unparalleled. Signless blinked in surprise as Kankri gaped, muttering out, “Wow!”.  


“Bro Strider,” the human said. He had thick leather gloves on with the fingertips cut off and Signless shook his hand, still in awe. “Signless Vantas. This is my son, Kankri.”  


“Well how’d’ya do, there, Kankri?” the man, Bro, drawled.  


“Hi, Mister Strider Sir. I am doing very well, thank you for asking.”  


“Taught ‘im some manners, huh? Well, you are welcome for asking.” Signless pinned his unrest at the human at the fact that the man’s face almost never shifted, only to talk, and was more stoic than stone. “Would you be interested in buying one of my puppets?”  


“Papa?” Kankri asked, hopefully. Signless reached up and set his wriggler down so he could examine the stall himself.  


“Mister Strider, I’m afraid we can’t buy anything. Kankri was just curious because he’s seen very few toys in his life and had never heard of a puppet before.”  


“Ah, I see. Your eyes are red. Mutant blood, eh?” Signless nodded, watching his son hesitantly examine a red crab with extreme interest. “And your son the only one you got?”  


“Yes, sir.”  


“Well, my puppet business makes me quite a lot of money on Earth, you see, but I don’t sell a whole lot here,” Bro said, “Now, I’munna ask you a question.”  


“Hm?” Kankri was squeezing the claws of the crab and found that they made a noise, giggling and making it do it again. Signless couldn’t help but smile a bit at his child’s antics.  


“How old were you when they made you have Kankri here?”  


“T-ten sweeps. Why do you ask. Mister Strider?”  


“How old is Kankri?”  


“Ah, two and a half sweeps?”  


The human crossed his arms. “So you got maybe, eh, five and half, six sweeps left until they think about breeding this one up for a couple more black-bloods and leavin’ this little one with the leftovers, am I right?”  


A hint of rage must have passed through Signless’ eyes at the crassness of this man. “Why must you discuss this so openly and in this manner, Mister Strider?” he said through gritted teeth, prepared to take his son at any moment and get the hell away from this colossal asshole.  


“Hey now,” the man said, hands raised in surrender. “I’m only tryin’ to help. See, I only come ‘round these parts once a sweep, maybe twice if I can make it, an’ I got me two extra seats on my ship that’ll take me to an’ from Earth as I please.”  


Signless stared at the other in shock, though most of the rage drained out of his features. Was this man offering what he thought he was offering? In public? He looked around, and nobody was near the strange toy-peddler’s stall. Surely, if they had heard them, some action would have been taken against them. Signless would have been beaten for sure, just for speaking to the man, offering him freedom.  


Freedom. This man was offering freedom. A chance on a different planet, a different life for them. A shipride away from absolute freedom. It was...too good to be true.  


“What’s the catch, Strider?”  


“Ain’t no catch. I’m in the business of helpin’ people, and you are just as much people as anyone else I ever met.”  


Signless was shocked. He watched his son play with two of the toys at the end of the table, happy as can be. Kankri didn’t know any of the possibilities that lay before them now. He was content to bounce a little stuffed crab along some wood with his own created sound effects. But if they took this offer, Signless could take them both to Earth. Signless could get a job and earn money for them, buy Kankri things. They could live on their own. Kankri could go to school and have all of those questions swarming around in his head answered. They could have their own rooms in their own hive in a neighborhood where families lived their own lives.  


But then, what of his friends? The ones who agreed to think about helping him change the world? Or the thousands of trolls that needed rescuing just as much as he did? This...this was selfish. And he couldn’t do it, not now. Not unless they had no other choice.  


“As great as your offer sounds, Mister Strider, I’m afraid I have to decline. Twenty-two other trolls dear to me would be left behind. I cannot, in good conscience, leave my friends and their wrigglers to suffer, even if some of them would have jumped at this chance.”  


The man nodded, looking at Kankri as Signless was. “Well, Vantas. Like I said, I come ‘round once a sweep. My offer still stands if you change your mind.”  


Signless nodded, mumbling his thanks before turning to his son. “Kankri, we have more to do still at market. Put the toy down and let’s go.”  


Kankri looked saddened, but nodded, and set the two stuffed creatures down on the stall. “Thank you for letting me play, Mister Strider,” he said quietly, stepping back toward his father.  


“Say, Kankri, how many friends ya got back at home?”  


“Well,” Kankri looked at his father questioningly, but Signless nodded his approval and encouragement to answer. “There’s Porrim and Mituna and Latula and Cronus and Meenah, but she’s kind of mean, and Aranea and Damara and Rufioh and Horuss and Kurloz and Meulin. That’s um...one more than this many.” He splayed out all of his fingers for the human to see.  


“Hm, eleven...well, think of this as my business card, Vantas. Kankri, why don’tcha pick out a toy for each of your friends. On the house.”  


Kankri’s eyes grew wide. “Really?”  


The human chuckled lightly, still not breaking his poker face. “Absolutely.”  


“Thank you, Mister Strider,” Signless said. “You are really too kind.”  


“Yeah, well, here’s to hoping I can actually help you out some time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so...the plot thickens! Things are going to start moving faster for a bit and then they'll slow down again, but yes...comment, kudos, chat to me on my tumblr (taylothlorien). Much appreciated!


	9. Primus Amor et Incipit

To Signless, time was moving in fast-motion, it seemed. Every day, Kankri was growing. Every day, their conversations got more elaborate and in-depth. Every single day, Signless watched his son become a fine young troll and every day he was proud.  


And every day the plantation was changing. What had been a modest start-up of a tea plantation turned into more and more of a side project as Master expanded galactically. More often than not, Signless or Redglare found themselves in charge of Mituna as Psiioniic was used to navigate Master's ship between Alternia and Earth. Mituna didn’t seem to mind much, though Psiioniic was clearly heartbroken about it, often crying into Mituna’s mop of hair that he refused to allow cut for hours after he returned from his voyages.  


In fact, as time wore on, work on the plantation itself seemed to shift. It was much the same for the field trolls. Signless, Grand, Disciple, Redglare, Darkleer, Spinneret, Summoner, and Handmaid were strictly in the fields except on rare occasions. Condesce and Dualscar fished with Cronus and Meenah most days, helping in the fields when fishing was too dangerous due to weather, and Dolorosa worked in the kitchen of the house, running the main house, essentially.  


The rest of the younger trolls, however, were split into different jobs. With Master having thirteen blackbloods to his name, there was plenty of waiting on them to be done, and so laundry became a daily chore that Latula, Meulin, Aranea, and Damara were in charge of from the age of four sweeps. Horuss worked in the carriage house, fixing the carriages and other mechanisms for the plantation with all of his time. Kurloz and Rufioh worked in the stables attached to the carriage house, caring for the large hoofbeasts from dawn to dusk. Mituna worked in the den of the house, his mind running numbers almost as fast as his father’s and thus he kept contact between Master and the plantation’s books at whichever hours were convenient for the blackblood. He had a special “pager” as Master called it, which called him to work whenever he was needed, and he was dismissed when he was done until another summons. This kept his hours odd, but they seemed to fit Mituna. Porrim worked alongside her mother, mostly, and in the gardens of the main house where the laundry would be hung, mending and darning in between jobs Dolorosa gave her.  


Kankri believed he had the best job of all in the house. While he kept the entire mansion tidy, he was chiefly the keeper of the library. Master had taken it upon himself to become a galactical collector of books and Kankri kept them in order. Over time, he began to peer into the books, and it was soon after that that he would read everything that came in to the library and could nearly quote every single shelf. He learned to cater his cleaning strategies to be quick and efficient, so his job in the rest of the house could be done in minimal time and he could spend the rest of his days reading, organizing, and reorganizing his library.  


Signless always cautioned Kankri when the young troll would sneak a book back to their quarters. They had finally gotten separate beds, but it was easy for Signless to see that Kankri had stolen a book. “Be careful, little one,” he would say. “That library is not yours.” Kankri would shrug, not bothering to argue when he knew his father’s sentiment was true.  


It was around six sweeps that Signless noticed he was seeing less and less of his son. It was hard enough sweeps ago when their jobs were separated from each other, Signless slaving away in the fields as his son swept and read the days away. The highlight of his day would be hearing Kankri talk animatedly about what he had read and the new ideas that sprung from his mind when a new concept was introduced to him through the stories or speeches he devoured. He was not the only one who seemed to enjoy this, though.  


The Ampora boy would sit and listen to Kankri talk of the human world, giving detailed accounts of everything he could possibly imagine. In the later hours after dinner but before curfew, Signless would see Kankri leaning against a tree next to a dazed-and-delighted-looking Cronus, babbling away about human history and culture. Clearly the boy loved it, whether or not it was the information or the talking, Signless wasn’t at liberty to say. Still, the look on Kankri’s face when Cronus would respond melted Signless’ heart a little. Whatever made his son happy, made him happy, he decided, and he let it alone for a sweep.  


When Kankri turned seven sweeps, Signless decided it was time to stop letting it alone. He tolerated Dualscar and Spinneret’s hateful relationship and welcomed Cronus and Aranea into his hive on unbearable nights. He tolerated the rambunctious relationships of all of his peers, and for the most part turned a blind eye to those developing between the younger trolls that weren’t his own.  


However, it was a muggy night in seventh perigee that Signless found himself unable to sleep. The rains recently had been unbearable, alternating with blistering heat that brought more and more thunderstorms as it left. He tossed in his cot, deciding he wouldn’t be able to sleep for a while, and glanced over to his son’s bed to see how the younger was faring in the weather. What he found was an empty cot.  


Signless bolted up in panic, throwing on his brown cloak and heading out the door in haste. He didn’t know what he thought happened. All he knew was that his son was gone and whoever had taken him would pay. Dearly. He searched the village in silence, finding nothing out of the ordinary, all hives in perfect order with the right number of people in them...until he reached Dualscar’s. He peered in the window of the last hive he checked, finding the sleeping seadweller sprawled out on his mattress facedown. A quick glance over across the hive proved that another bed in the village was empty: Cronus’.  


Signless had to stop himself from pounding on the door, instead slipping in quietly and shaking Dualscar awake. “Dualscar!” he whispered loudly, practically hissing in the other’s ear. The moisture in the air must have been wonderful on the other’s gills, causing him to wake up slower than usual.  


“Mmn...Signless? What’re you doin’ ‘ere?” he asked groggily, moving to sit up and wipe his face, his usual anger not able to gain purchase on the stretch of flesh in his drowsiness.  


“I woke up and found that Kankri was missing. Do you have any idea where he might be?” He crossed his arms, staring down at the seadweller.  


“Now why in the galaxy would I know where yer wriggler is? Can’t keep tabs on ‘im yerself?”  


Signless rolled his eyes. “If you would wake up and look around your own hive, you would realize that Cronus’ bed is empty also. What did your son do with my son?”  


At the mention of Cronus, Dualscar flicked his eyes over to the other cot and a scowl overcame his features. “Damn boy!” he growled, standing up angrily and tossing on his cape. “I ain’t got the slightest clue where they went, but when I find ‘im, I’m goin’ to skin the boy myself for bein’ a fuckin’ idiot an’ sneakin’ out.”  


“We are agreed then. Time to find our sons.”  


\-----

  


Kankri shuffled out of the hive as quietly as possible. He had pretended to sleep while his father tossed and turned and took an opportune moment during a bout of sleep to escape into the night. He wasn’t comfortable with this, not really, but Cronus had insisted it was important and Cronus had never lied to him. Certainly, the troll had lied to most of the others, but Cronus was always truthful with him so he trusted him. He was wrapped up in the red sweater that Porrim had knitted him for 12th perigee not long ago. He found he was nearly always cold, and Cronus didn’t say where they were going so he wanted to come prepared to be sufficiently warm. He had read enough to know it was worth it.  


He made his way in the dark to their rendezvous point, a tree behind the common house, and wasn’t surprised at all to see Cronus already there, looking up and simultaneously nowhere, clearing his throat softly for the seadweller to notice him.  


Cronus looked at him and smiled, the points of his teeth showing in the grin that plastered itself across the other’s face. Kankri loved that smile. He felt a small one of his own creep onto his face at the way Cronus looked at him, obviously happy to see that he actually came. “Hey, babe,” the seadweller said, his voice music to Kankri’s ears. Though 

Kankri was usually the one talking, he lived for the moments when Cronus would speak back. “You made it. No trouble with the old man?”  


“That’s Kankri, and no. I was able to slip away quietly. What did you need, exactly?” Kankri stepped closer to the other to better see him in the darkness.  


“We actually have to go somewheres first, that okay?” Cronus dug a hand out of his pocket to scratch at the back of his slicked-back hair.  


Kankri found himself nodding before he actually answered. “Of course, but we should be quick. Should our parents wake up, I wouldn’t want to get in trouble.”  


Cronus smirked and Kankri warmed inside. “ Don’t worry. I”ll getcha home safe, just come on,” the seadweller grasped the other’s hand, “it’s not far.”  


They made their way through the forest, a rather familiar path to Kankri but a far more familiar path to Cronus, who seemed to have no problem navigating in the dark, anticipating every obstacle and warning the other before they encountered it.  


\-----

  


Kankri’s earliest memory of Cronus was hazy. After all, they were very young. Surely Cronus had technically known Kankri for his entire life, about half a sweep older than he. He had been told that as grubs, they were rather tolerant of each other and when Cronus pupated first, he would perch Kankri on his back or shoulder during story time or nap time. Neither of them remembered such a thing, of course, but it made Kankri blush at the thought of it.  


What he did remember was a time when his father had come home from market later than expected. He had been in the care of Miss Maryam and had been helping set everything up for supper -- the details of this were hazy, It was late enough that the black-blooded foreman had begun to grow suspicious, already annoyed at the lack of punishment he had been allowed to give and looking for any in to do so. He called most of the trolls to the most unused part of the plantation to watch and “learn” from the example they were to see.  


He remembered shouting, his father's furtive glances his way. His father was pulled down by his hair to bend over an old stump, old stains of rainbow weathered, faded over the years during which they were not refreshed. He remembered the snap of the whip, the hisses from his father, the harsh words of the foreman trying to put everyone ‘back in their damn place’. And he remembered Cronus’ hand, both of theirs tiny but his always slightly larger at least, gripping his own hand. They couldn’t look away. They weren’t allowed.  


So as he was forced to witness his father’s torture, Cronus was there for him.  


Cronus was always there.  


\-----

  


As they neared a thinning of trees, Kankri looked up and saw where Cronus had led them. This dock wasn’t the one that he knew the seadwellers fished from each day. This one was small, but well kept, with only a tiny boat with oars tied to it and a trunk that Kankri assumed held fishing supplied nestled on the shore.  


“Why are we here, Cronus, at such an hour?” he asked, crossing his arms, partly to ward off the chill, partly due to his more sassy nature than he cared to admit.  


“I got something I wanna show ya. Sit down.” Cronus gestured to the end of the dock and Kankri reluctantly obliged. He watched Cronus shuffle things around in the trunk before pulling out a large object wrapped in a blanket and carried it towards him. “You cold, chief?”  


Kankri shivered and nodded, “Yes, actually, it is rather chilly.”  


“Gotcha covered.” He unwrapped the object from the blanket, using the act of settling the blanket around Kankri’s shoulders to shield it for a moment longer, sitting down next to the other.  


Cronus, he realized, was holding a guitar. Kankri raised a brow and furrowed the other, immediately concerned. “Where did you get that?”  


Cronus beemed, his sharp teeth glistening in the moonlight. He looked too proud of himself. “Rufioh helped me snatch it from one’a the blackblood kids. Thought they’d be upset but looks like they got a brand new one a few days later.”  


“You stole it? Cronus!” Kankri didn’t bother to hold back his anger or worry, arms still crossed but kicking the other in the leg for being such a fool.  


“What? They got plenty’a stuff an’ I wanted to learn to play a song for ya.”  


“What song is possibly worth this? What if you got caught? You’ll be beaten, surely! What if they take fingers, like those blue bloods in town had? Then where will you be?”  


Cronus scoffed. “I ain’t gonna get caught. Besides, this is totally worth the risk. I got a song for ya, Kanny, a real special one, so will you just shut yer trap for five minutes and let me play it?”  


Despite the harsh reprimand that really only Cronus, Porrim, or his papa could get away with, Kankri’s heart lept. A special song, for him? This had to be a dream, but he was happy to be in it. He nodded, folding his hands in the blanket as he watched Cronus tune the instrument. He looked...at home with the guitar on his lap. How long had he been working with it, exactly? He seemed an expert to Kankri’s eyes.  


“Listen real close, alright?”  


“Of course, Cronus.”  


When the guitar rang out, the chords formed a simple, beautiful tune that had Kankri’s eyes locked on Cronus. He had never heard the song before, but he had never heard much music to begin with. He knew the boys who worked in the barn listened to some human radio stations every so often, but he never did. He’d never really enjoyed music.  


Now, he loved it. Especially when Cronus began to sing. “Wise men say only fools rush in but I can’t help falling in love with you.”  


Kankri froze and promptly melted. Never did he allow himself to imagine this moment would ever come, not really. He vividly remembered the day those dreams were ripped from him.  


\-----

  


“Papa, where did I come from?” His papa startled at that, freezing for a moment. Kankri could tell he was thinking about something. He hadn’t even considered the possibility that his parent might not know! Oh, he was such a meanie for assuming. “I’m sorry if I said something wrong to disturb you, Papa. I meant no-”  


“No, no, Kankri. You have nothing to apologize for. I knew you would ask me someday,” he sighed. “ I just hoped it wouldn’t be so soon.” He placed a hand on Kankri’s shoulder. “This is not a fairytale story, little one. Are you certain you want to know?” The look of concern and barely concealed sorrow on his father’s face made Kankri hesitate before he answered in a small voice, “Yes, Papa.”  


The elder nodded. “Then now is the time. Come, let’s sit on the bed.” They cuddled in their quilts, backs against the wooden wall of their hive. It was dark season, so the chill bit in during the nights far harsher than normally, but Master hadn’t yet granted the wrigglers beds of their own so the parents and their wrigglers kept each other warm on cold nights.  


“Comfy?” Kankri nodded as his father tucked the quilt around his son. “Alright, there are two parts to this discussion that are equally important but I need you to listen well and ask any questions at the end. Do you understand, little one?” Kankri rolled his eyes. He was almost 5 sweeps! He wasn’t a ‘little one’ anymore. But he nodded regardless.  


“Now, you know why we have different colored eyes.”  


Kankri nodded. “Because our blood is different colors.”  


“Well, long ago, there were only colored-blooded trolls. Black-bloods like Master and all non-slave trolls didn’t exist yet. Slavery didn’t exist, either, not really.” Kankri’s eyes widened, but he stayed silent. “Troll culture was very different than it is now. It was organized on something called the ‘hemospectrum’.”  


“Hemospectrum?”  


“Yes. So the top trolls in charge of everything and everyone were the seadwellers. The Tyrians like Condesco and Meenah were the Empresses. Then there were the violets.”  


“Like Cronus and his papa?”  


“Cronus and Dualscar, yes. They are descended from a special like that is another story for another time. Below them would be purple, like Grand and Kurloz. Below them, blue, like Darkleer and Horuss. Then Cerulean, like Spinneret and Aranea. Teal, Jade, Olive, Gold or Yellow, Rust, and Burgundy. Red, like you and I, was what is called a mutation, a mutant color, and that is why we are so rare.” Kankri nodded his understanding. “And there was a lot of violence between the blood colors. Life was very different back then, and to be clear, the world was a mess. One thing everyone had in common was,” Signless swallowed, “pailing.”  


“Pailing?” Kankri’s brows knitted.  


His father coughed. “Yes.”  


“Like...a pail? To carry water in?”  


“Ah...well...somewhat. So a long time ago, there was a creature that was called the Mother Grub which made all the grubs for the trolls. All trolls had to do was supply their genetic material once a perigee and the mother grub did the rest. There were more lusii back then so no trolls actually had parents, only a lusus.”  


“What? No parents at all? No families?”  


His papa shook his head. “The advantage, then, Kankri, was that color-blooded trolls got to choose who they wanted to pail. Now…” he trailed off.  


“Now?”  


“Now that the black-blooded trolls are here, color-blooded trolls can carry their own grubs as long as they are…” he sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Okay, so pailing is something you only do when you love and trust someone in a sexual manner, understand?” Kankri opened his mouth to ask something, but signless cut him off. “No, let me talk. So you have a bulge and a nook. Both can be...stimulated to feel...pleasure. When a troll feels that kind of pleasure to a point, they release genetic material. In color-blooded relationships, two trolls who love and trust each other stimulate each other in different ways until they both produce genetic material. That material is placed in a pail. In order to produce a grub, this needs to be given to the mother grub. Do you follow me?”  


Kankri nodded, slightly confused but mostly understanding. “But because there is no mother grub anymore, it has to happen a different way to make grubs. And again, there are more things to discuss but save your questions. Black bloods create a genetic material that when released into a color-blood’s nook creates grubs inside the color-blood, one black and one the same color as the one that carried it. Now, when the mother grub died, there was a massive war and the black bloods used this power as the winners to enslave the color-bloods and use them as servants, workers, and breeders. That is why Master bought all of us adults. To use as pails and create more black-blood wrigglers to carry on in his fortune, and more slaves like you.”  


Kankri was silent. So...that meant that color-bloods don’t have a choice? That his papa was bought and...and used and now he was here? He wasn’t...his papa didn’t want him? Kankri desperately tried to process all the facts quicker so maybe he would understand, and maybe he was wrong, but as he kept thinking and processing, it all became too clear. His father wasn’t wanted by whomever was forced to have him and he wasn’t wanted by his papa and someday, he would be forced to do the exact same thing. And so, he started crying.  


“No, no, what is it, little one?”  


Kankri shook his head. He didn’t need a pet name, not from his papa, especially now that he knew. His papa tried to place an arm around him shoulder, but he wouldn’t stand for it. The only thought he could process clearly now was his brain’s order to run.  


And run he did. He shot off the bed, ignoring the cries of his father as he bolted out the door. He paid no mind to where he was running, but he kept going as tears ran down his face for as long as he could before his legs turned to jelly and he collapsed. The thoughts ran through his head a mile a minute and he was so wrapped up in his thoughts, that the combination of his thoughts and the sound of his sobbing masked the approaching footfalls of his papa’s feet.  


Before he knew it, he was being picked up like a tiny wriggler and cradled to the man’s chest and he couldn’t bring himself to accept the affection. He struggled, punching and kicking and screaming his frustration, but his father held fast until the fight drained out of him and he was left a weak mass in the adult’s arms, who swayed back and forth gently, rubbing circles into his back, humming to calm, him down.  


“Kankri, I know you’re upset, but someday everything will work out. I will always love you and do everything in my power to keep you safe and happy. Do you understand me?” It took Kankri a while, but he nodded soon enough and clasped his arms around his papa’s neck. “You may not live a fairy tale and be able to marry the troll of your dreams, but I will do my best to try to change that one day. I love you, little one.”  


And he mumbled in return in a watery voice, “I love you, too.”  


\-----

  


“Shall I stay? Would it be a sin if I can’t help falling in love with you?” Cronus’ fingers worked the strings expertly, his face screwed up in concentration in a way that make Kankri’s heart beat faster. “Like a river flows surely to the sea, darling so it goes. Some things are mean to be.” He shot a smile up at Kankri and Kankri felt his already-existant blush grow darker. Was that a flush he saw on Cronus’ cheeks as well? His heart pounded at the idea that he was also as dear to the seadweller’s heart as Cronus was to his.“Take my hand. Take my whole life, too, for I can’t help falling in love with you.”  


Kankri took a second to realize just exactly how much had gone into everything. Cronus had stolen a guitar just to take him out here in the middle of the night when the stars were at their brightest and sing this song to him, however long it had taken himself to learn how to play properly and tune and play this song specifically calculated in. This was so -- dare he say it -- romantic. “Like a river flows surely to the sea, darling so it goes. Some things are meant to be.”  


He felt tears well in his eyes but he refused to let them fall, waiting for the song to end before he made a single peep. “Take my hand. Take my whole life, too, for I can’t help falling in love with you. For I can’t help falling in love with you.”  


It was silent for a moment as the last note faded into the air around them. It took a few seconds before Cronus looked up, smiling sheepishly. “So, heh...whatcha think, Kanny?”  


“That was beautiful, Cronus,” he nearly whispered, placing his hand on the colder seadweller’s. “Thank you so much.”  


The guitar was placed to the side as Cronus rubbed the back of his neck. “I been meanin’ to show you for a while now but, ah, couldn’t get the note pattern down an’ I wanted to make it special so...I guess, what I’m tryin’ to say is that I,” he swallowed, “I really like you, chief, an’ I been thinking that we could do that human datin’ thing and maybe you would be my boyfriend?” He was almost whispering by the time he finished his monologue, but Kankri heard every word clearly.  


He smiled. “I really like you to, Cronus,” he said, watching the other brighten and his earfins flutter lightly. His own smile fell a little, though. “But we’re slaves and you know just as well as I do where that ends. One of us could be sold and we can never live the life of a human relationship because we simply don’t have freedom. If anyone ever found out…”  


A fierceness was in Cronus’ eyes that both scared and excited Kankri. “Fuck ‘em. What they don’t know won’t hurt ‘em and we can figure somethin’ out. You like me back, Kanny?” Kankri could only nod as their fingers were laced together, Cronus squeezing his hand lightly, comfortingly. “Then be my boyfriend. We’ll face the rest’a the world when we have to. Please?”  


Kankri’s answer was nearly inaudible as he searched Cronus’ eyes for any doubt before he said, “...Okay.”  


Cronus smiled again. “Okay?”  


Kankri smiled in return and nodded. “Yes, Cronus, I’ll be your boyfriend.”  


Cronus chuckled and muttered, “Score!” before he leaned in and Kankri found himself experiencing his very first kiss.  


\-----

  


Signless and Dualscar had checked everywhere they could think of on the plantation, and there was one place left that Dualscar had mentioned taking Cronus to once or twice when he had needed to give an important talk to “the brat.” They made their way through the woods and as the trees thinned out, Signless heard talking. He caught a glimpse of bright red and he instantly knew what was happening. Quickly, he pulled Dualscar behind a tree and shushed him, leaning out to watch.  


They saw Cronus putting down a guitar -- where had he gotten that? -- and the way their son’s faces lit up after a short exchange. Before they knew it, they saw their sons kissing in the moonlight and Signless’ heart fell and soared at the same time, happiness for his son’s own joy and sorrow for he knew the road ahead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Sorry for such a long wait! I had to go on a business trip and didn't bring my computer with me, but I wrote on paper and cranked this out as fast as possible when I returned! Hopefully the link of the chapter makes up for it. So...comment? Come chat with me on my tumblr (same username)? I'd love to hear what you think.


	10. Cor Patris Donantes

Signless heard it happen before he actually saw it. He heard Dualscar’s low growl of anger before he saw him storm out of the tree line in direct path toward their sons. He heard Cronus’ yelp of surprise before he saw the boy hauled to his feet by his ear and lifted by his shirt with his father’s other hand. He himself stepped out of the trees, ready to come to aid if need be.

“What d’ya think yer doin’, boy?” Dualscar shook Cronus with his words. “Ya think it’s all good fun ta’ slip ‘way in the night? Ya think nobody’s gonna notice a slave with a guitar, eh? Out past curfew gets you whipped er killed, boy! I oughta woop yer ass m’self, y’hear me?”

  
Cronus was wincing away from his father as best as he could as Signless moved forward to the both of them. “Dualscar, I think it would do everyone best if you would calm down for a moment. I think you’re being a bit rash.”

  
Dualscar turned on the other, only slightly lowering his son. “Rash? Ya’ think I’m being rash, eh? The boy stole a piece a’ wood that cost more than Handmaid did! An’ he’s out ‘ere flaunting it to the world!”

  
Signless put a placating hand on the other’s shoulder. “I am aware of the gravity of the situation, but can we please calm down and go about this rationally? Certainly punishment is necessary, but aggression is not the answer.”

  
He watched as Dualscar seethed, finally dropping Cronus like a sack of potatoes and raising his hands in surrender. “Fine. But if ya’ think for a second m’not gonna have his ass fer this, yer lyin’ to yerself.”

  
Signless nodded stepping to the side and finally looking at his son. He wasn’t sure what he should feel at the moment. Certainly he was relieved that his child was safe and unharmed, but the risk that Kankri had taken to even be out of their little home past curfew was so great that he recognized the same anger that Dualscar failed to conceal in himself. How could they both be so stupid? They knew, they had lived this way their entire lives. It wasn’t new information, and yet they took the risk anyway.

  
“Kankri, you know that we will discuss this further when we are safe in our home, and none of us should be out here this late, but while Cronus is here I will impress part of my punishment before discussing everything with you.” He looked seriously at the two young trolls before him, both sheepish but still gravitating toward each other. He sighed inwardly but carried on speaking. “For sneaking out past curfew and conspiring about this together, I forbid you, Kankri, from spending any alone time with Cronus for three perigees.”

  
Cronus guffawed. “Three perigees?!”

  
Signless turned toward him with a stern look. “Considering that this could have lead to serious injury or death, you ought to be grateful that I didn’t say a sweep. Keep protesting and I will extend it further. I am trying to be fair because clearly you two did not understand the consequences of your actions.” He looked at both in turn. “I am very disappointed in both of you. Kankri, say your goodbyes. We have much to discuss.” With that, Signless turned away and waited.

  
\-----

  
Kankri’s heart fell. Never in his life had he ever disappointed his father. He watched with wide eyes as the taller turned away from them and it was all he could do not to break down.

  
“I’m real sorry, Kanny,” Cronus said, turning Kankri to face him. “Guess I wasn’t thinkin’ things through, y’know?”

  
Kankri nodded. “Well, I agreed despite the circumstances and if things were different...this was very sweet of you, Cronus, and I am very glad to be your human boyfriend, e-even though we will be separated.” He did his best to hold himself together but Cronus must’ve noticed because he was being hugged tightly and his forehead received a light kiss before the hug was broken, and Cronus was dragged away by his ear by his own father, leaving Signless and Kankri on the dock in the moonlight. Kankri watched his father turn around and struggled to meet his gaze. In his father’s eyes swam emotions he wasn’t prepared to admit that he had caused.

  
“Come along, Kankri.” And Kankri did, all the while thinking of what exactly would happen. His father would probably yell and wake the Captors across the path. He would be a mass of fury and he couldn’t blame him for feeling so. How could he have been so stupid, he thought? Sure, it was the most wonderful and romantic and thoughtful things Cronus had ever done for him and now he had a partner, but why did it have to end like this? He tried his best not to think of the beating Cronus would receive from his own father when they were alone in their own home. His thoughts were swiftly dragging him down into a pit of despair and he reached rock bottom when Signless closed the door to their quarters quietly.

  
Yet even though Kankri expected the worst, he was enveloped in a warm embrace. He was startled. Why wasn’t he being punished like he deserved? Why was his father hugging him?

  
“Gog, Kankri, what would I have done had someone else found you? Don’t ever scare me like that again.”

  
“I-I’m sorry Papa,” he squeaked out, his fear and anxiety at the situation bringing further tears to his eyes.

  
“Shh, don’t cry, I’ve already given you your punishment. But Kankri...you must understand how I felt. When you sneak away with no word in the middle of the night, when you could have been taken and sold away from here and we would never see each other again, simply going to kiss another young troll isn’t that simple. It’s exciting to feel loved, and I know it as well as you feel it now, but it is dangerous and acting in such a manner, you could lose everything.”

He nodded, though he didn’t think he would be so understanding and kind as a father. He didn’t care to picture that, either. He cried harder as the feeling of not deserving such treatment washed over him and he clung to his father. Just like when he was a grub, he felt a soothing hand on his back moving in calming circles as his papa held him tighter, shushing him and swaying them gently. Kankri couldn’t be sure how long they stood like that, but eventually he had no more tears left to shed and his father patted his back before leading him over to his cot. He lifted up the quilt Rosa and Porrim had made him and Kankri climbed in after shedding his sweater.

Signless brushed his son’s hair, just as unruly as his own, out of his face and gave a soft smile. “I know you’re growing up, and I understand that you will not be my little one forever, but Kankri.” He kneeled down next to his cot and looked at his son earnestly. “Regardless of our circumstances, you were the best thing to ever happen to me. We both need to be careful, because I could not handle losing you. Do you understand?”

  
“Yes, papa,” Kankri replied, tears drying on his face as he laid there.

  
“Very well. Get some rest. I love you, little one.”

  
“I love you, too.” And they both meant it more than the other would ever know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is a little mini update because I'm about to release a HUGE one and I thought I should put something out in the meantime. Comment, Kudo, and chat with me over on my tumblr (taylothlorien)!


	11. Primum Pivotal

Every once in a while, Master stuck around for a week or so, giving Psiioniic a break and checking in with his contacts on his home planet. It was at those times that traffic to the plantation increased and everyone was on their best behavior; different guests arrived every day and they needed tending to as well.

It was usually Porrim and Miss Maryam who served high tea to Master and whomever he had visiting, but one day when the younger trolls were 8 sweeps, when the house slaves had checked in that morning on their way to their own duties, Miss Maryam relayed the message that Kankri was specifically requested to serve tea that afternoon with her and that Porrim would be taking over his own duties during that time.

Kankri was confused. He had only served tea once or twice, when Porrim or Miss Maryam were under the weather, and it had been at least a sweep. Furthermore, he was positive men usually preferred women to serve them meals based on the past. Never had he seen male trolls requested to serve food, but rather asked to be replaced with a female slave instead. Nevertheless, he still had Porrim help him tidy up his sweater and clean of his shoes a bit better before the time of the afternoon came. Luckily for Kankri, the routine was simple. He didn’t have to think much about it. They had set the tea table prior to anyone arriving in the room and they were simply standing alert against a wall, waiting to pour tea and dress tea as flagged upon.

They stood and waited, close enough for Kankri to feel more comfortable about the situation, but far enough away as was respectable. Eventually, four tall, male trolls with black eyes entered the room and Kankri stepped forward to take their overcoats, just like Miss Maryam had reminded him to do, before Master walked in behind them all and sat down with his overcoat on. Kankri gently hung the coats as Miss Maryam stepped forward to begin pouring tea. Master must have stopped her, because behind his back he heard Master’s deep voice.

“Dolorosa, be a dear and let Kankri do this one yes?”

“Yes, Master.” Kankri turned around to see her curtsy and step back, giving him a look to fill in for what she was doing. He moved forward, pouring the tea and asking each guest in turns, politely, “Cream or sugar, sir?” in between their conversation. A conversation which put him on edge, and nearly had him shaking by the time he was allowed to step back until called for.

“So this is the young candyblood, hm, Thomas?”

“Indeed. You remember that auction that I won Signless at, yes?”

“How could I forget? When you split that slave’s skin, you’d won the jackpot.”

“Oh, that’s not even the half of it. When I bred this one’s father,” Master gestured offhandedly with his tea spoon at Kankri, not bothering to eye the slave troll, “he gave me not only another candyblood but two blackbloods.”

“Two!” One of the guests, the only one with spectacles, smacked his leg in amusement and disbelief. “You’re joking, surely!”

Master shook his head. “I wouldn’t lie, Kenneth. I’ve got thirteen wrigglers from all my slaves, and I only had to breed twelve times. Candybloods are worth more than trolls even imagine, and I’ve got two of them.”

“Whew, Tom. You lucky grub of a female barkbeast.”

Master waited for a moment, chewing his food, before nodding and continuing. “I’m only going to grow my fortune more. I’ll be waiting the full 10 sweeps to breed my second generation, but Kankri over there’s getting bred before I head out to Earth again.”

Kankri’s breath stopped in his throat. He was barely eight and a half sweeps. This...no. This wasn’t happening. He had heard wrong. Surely, he had heard wrong.

“That so? You sure you’re even up for breeding again? You could just have your wrigglers do the dirty work for you.”

“They’ll be out on their own before the sweep is out, buying up their own slaves and building their own businesses. I’m still young and spry, relatively speaking. I can breed myself. Besides, I wanna get another candyblood if I can help it to pull in a little extra cash.”

“Sellin’ it as a grub? You’re going to rake in a serious profit margin on that one. Well played. Thomas. Well played.”

As the trolls clinked their tea cups together, Kankri’s blood ran colder than ice. He was sure, he had always been told he had more time to deal with this. While the rest of his peers were forming relationships and pailing, he had decided to put it off, to remain celibate until the choice was taken from him, but now it was being ripped out from under him faster than he could understand.

“I figure I’ll get at least one, if not two blackbloods I can keep from the deal. Might as well make some money off the extra.”

Kankri couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Extra? The grub he would be forced to keep, the only positive of the situation, would be ripped from him like a scrap piece of cloth? A quick glance over at Miss Maryam confirmed that he had heard everything right, and he had right to be scared. The pity in her eyes was something he had never seen before and it tore at his heart in a thousand different directions.

His body protected him for the moment. It put him on autopilot. He served them tea like the most perfect servant they had ever witnessed, letting the lewd comments about the current situation bounce off of him before he could finally escape.

When he did, he bolted out of the back door of the kitchen and across the plantation, into the brewing cloudy daylight, leaving the Maryams with the mess from the tea service. He ran as fast as he could for nearly five whole minutes before he reached the dock at the far edge of the property. This dock he visited more often on errands for the house than others on the property, as this was where the seadwellers fished. As he skidded to a halt, he realized tears had been flinging down his face as he ran and he quickly wiped them away as he called out, "CRONUS?"

He walked closer to the dock, not so fond of water himself, and called out again before the troll surfaced with a huge grin on his face, a grin Kankri was happy to say was reserved just for him. "Ey, Kanny, what brings ya out here durin' workin' hours? Couldn't get enough'a me? Heh, I don’t blame ya."

Kankri laughed a little, watery laugh before Cronus notice his boyfriend's face. He pulled himself off the deck and shook off a little before taking the other's elbows in his hands. "You okay there, chief? Look like you been cryin'." Kankri only held his composure for a moment before his face screwed up and tears came back, shaking his head and looking down. He only got a small, "No," out before Cronus was squeezing him in a hug and he was sobbing into the other’s bare chest, feeling a damp hand rub his back through his sweater, confused but determined.

Cronus looked up at the sky, the sun barely noticeable but its position clear enough. “Foreman does his rounds here pretty quick, so how’s about we go hide out in your hive and you can tell me what’s eatin’ at ya, an’ maybe I can help, hm?” He didn’t wait for Kankri to answer before he picked up his shirt and sandals from one of the rails of the dock and started to lead his boyfriend toward their quarters. Still, Kankri sniffled and nodded, trying to pull himself together but his thoughts running a mile a minute as per usual.

By the time they reached the little home Kankri shared with his father, the clouds had darkened significantly. Cronus thought he caught a glimpse, through the trees, of workers preparing the fields to weather the storm that was obviously looming over the plantation, ready to pounce at any second. It looked horrible out, but he relished the moisture in the air through his gills. He led Kankri inside before shutting the door after them.

“Gotta be honest, chief, it’s uh...what’s that word you always use...disconcertin’ to see you not talkin’ for so long?” He pulled them both to sit on Kankri’s cot, one hand firmly on the other’s knee. “What’s eatin’ ya, Kanny? I can’t help if I don’t know what’s goin’ on.”

Kankri sniffled, taking a deep breath, the universal sign of one of his monologues before he froze, his face fell and he began crying again, talking through tears. “Master had some colleagues over for tea, and he requested I serve with Miss Maryam, but when we had prepared the tea service and the blackbloods sat down to tea, they requested I do all of the work and proceeded to talk business right in front of me like I was some sort of...of cattle!” He took a shuddering breath and continued in almost a whisper. “Master said he’s going to breed me. This week. And then he’s going to sell of the grub I would normally get to keep.”

Cronus froze as Kankri continued to rant about the injustice facing them, about how none of the system was fair and he finally understood what his father had told him all along, how his celibacy could never have mattered as long as he was property, and how the only good part of the situation would be ripped from him for money. But Cronus thought to himself of different injustices, of how they were supposed to have almost two sweeps before this would happen to them, and he was supposed to be in the first group. Of how he had wanted his own first time to be with someone he chose, not Master, and how he would have expressed that to Kankri when the time came and they had longer to think about their role as breeder-slaves first and foremost. Not only was that chance possibly being ripped from him, it was definitely being ripped from Kankri, his Kanny.

“-and I’m not prepared in the slightest! I don’t know what to do! Our parents never talk about this sort of thing if they do not have to and certainly I do not want to ask. I just wish…” Kankri sighed, his tears much slower now. “For the first time in my life, I can verbally say that I wish for freedom. I wish we were free and in control of our own lives. But that is such a far-fetched dream, saying so is useless.”

Cronus looked at Kankri, holding both of his hands now. “Kan, there’s somethin’ we can control now. I mean, we’ll figure everythin’ else out, talk to your old man and stuff, but right now, you and I can make a choice.” He bit his lip with his sharp, shark-like teeth and looked away for a moment. “I wasn’t gonna ask ya ‘till we were 10 sweeps and ‘bout to face this one after another, but we, I mean, you and me, we could, ah,” he looked back at Kankri, whose tears were drying on his face though he still looked saddened and confused, waiting patiently for Cronus to finish. “We could be eachother’s first breed.”

Kankri’s face twisted in confusion as Cronus continued, muttering nervously. “I know it’s like, not with your celibacy an’ all, an’ like technically it’d be pailin’ not breedin’ cause we can’t even have wrigglers together but I mean…” A light of rage flickered in the seadwellers eyes that Kankri was familiar with seeing every so often when Cronus dealt with authority. “I don’t want yer first concupiscent encounter to have to be forced. You told me ‘bout it in one’a those human books, they call it...rope or somethin’?”

“Rape, Cronus. Blackbloods rape their slaves,” Kankri corrected softly, shuddering at the thought, his mind filling with unpleasant images.

“Well, I don’t know if I can change the rape right now, but I know I can make it not…” Cronus placed a hand on Kankri’s cheek, bringing their faces toward eachother. “Not your first time. If you’ll have me.”

Kankri searched Cronus’ eyes as the storm of emotions he was brewing in filled the room around him. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for; the thought of being unsure terrified him. He was always sure in everything. He had steadfast and true opinions and beliefs, and was always convicted in the decisions he was allowed to make. But now, the world had fissured right below his feet and he stood on wobbly ground, unsure of the footing he should take to save himself. He couldn’t deny that he had wanted Cronus, that the dreams of adolescence hadn’t haunted him even with his celibate vow, and the idea of control, of making his own decision for his own life called to him appealingly through the storm, cutting through the haze of his mind.

He could not be sure how long he stared at Cronus, thinking -- it could have been a moment, and it could have been days -- before he nodded resolutely, voice still a little watery. “Alright.” He scooted a little closer. “A decision for my life, on my own, for once in it. I…” he breathed as Cronus’ eyes steadily widened. “Make love to me, Cronus.” The words felt ridiculous and foreign as they tumbled out of his mouth, but the smile that began to grow on Cronus’ face melted much of his hesitation and he felt himself smile a little through his cry-face.

“Whatever you say, Kanny.”

\-----

Cronus beamed as he laid back next to Kankri, both of them slightly sweaty and panting a little. For all that he had imagined it, losing what those humans called virginity to Kanny had been more than amazing. Sure, they couldn’t find a pail and Kankri would have to release their material into the ablution trap in a minute. And maybe it took a little fumbling and didn’t execute as easily as he thought it would, but it felt right. Like two puzzle pieces fitting together.

Kankri cuddled up to Cronus’ side, salty lines of tears long kissed away, and sighed. "That was amazing, Cronus." He smiled lightly, peering up at the other from his spot on Cronus' muscular chest. "Thank you."

Cronus leaned down and kissed Kankri's hair between his nubby horns. "Anytime babe." He watched as Kankri fought a yawn before losing that battle. "You get some sleep, yeah? I'm sure Porrim covered for ya, and I'll talk to my old man later 'bout my disappearance." Kankri grumbled his complaints, giving a muffled and muttering monologue to explain why that simply wasn't an option as sleep dragged him under. "So much for emptyin' in the ablution trap..." Cronus muttered to himself as he watched Kankri fall asleep.

For a moment, Cronus lay back against Kankri’s tattered pillow -- they all had tattered pillows, and he was sure they hadn’t been given new ones since they pupated -- and let his mind wander. Of course for a while he thought about what had just happened, but his mind grew bored of the topic, too fresh in his memory to particularly dwell on, and he put the thoughts of that away for later. From there, his thoughts took a turn for the grim as he thought of the reason they were in the situation so soon.

Cronus wasn’t the most popular guy on the plantation. He didn’t get along with a lot of the others his age, and he and his father weren’t the best at relating to each other for the most part, though their loyalty to eachother was fierce. He wasn’t the nicest either, he knew. He couldn’t help it half the time; he didn’t even realize some of the stuff he said would hurt and then it was too late and Amporas never apologized. He didn’t have the best karma running for him, but he figured he had used most of the good of it up on Kankri.

Kankri was worth the whole of paradox space to him, and he was everything that Cronus wasn’t; kind, thoughtful, talkative annoying in the opposite manner. Still, Kankri should have the best karma at least of the two of them, by his reckoning. It set heavily in his stomach and churned there uneasily, the thought that Kankri was the one who had to go through with this. If there was one thing Cronus hated, it was feeling powerless, and that feeling was hitting him like wave after wave on a rough day on the water. He wasn’t upset to the point of crying like Kankri. No, he was livid, more angry than he even knew he could be, and his line wasn’t known for easy tempers.

But what could he do? Kankri had come to him to tell him this would happen before the week was out and…

Wait a second, Kankri had come to him. Not his father. Maybe Mr. Vantas could help somehow, at least ease up on Kankri’s tension. Or maybe he could talk to Master and get him to go easy on him the first time and let him keep the thing. Huh. Yeah, Cronus could do that.

Slowly, he wiggled out of Kankri’s grasp and settled his sleeping boyfriend’s stirring before sneaking out of the hive. The wind was still blowing quite a bit and a few drops of rain had began to sling down, but he knew that rain always helped Kankri sleep so he would have plenty of time to go do this and get back before the troll woke up and he would need help to get to the ablution trap.

He noticed as he neared the field that the workers were picking everything up and bringing it to the barn to store until the storm passed. It didn’t take him long to spot Mr. Vantas, usually the one who kept his cloak on him and now the only one being protected from the drops that fell. He broke into a run and made it to his side, panting out, “Mr. Vantas, I gotta talk to ya.”

Signless looked over at the boy as he drew up the drawstring of his back-basket and slung it over his shoulder. “Cronus, what are you doing away from the docks? You should be doing your job instead of fraternizing with me.” He turned toward the barn but a cold hand stopped his shoulder.

“Please, it’s ‘bout Kanny.”

He turned and red eyes met violet. “What about Kankri?”

Cronus looked both ways. Everyone had made it halfway toward the barn now so he could speak without anyone hearing. “He came to me cryin’ because he overheard that Master’s gonna breed ‘im. This week.”

Cronus watched a myriad of emotions flash over Signless’ face before the elder froze on a cold expression. “If you are playing a joke, Cronus, this isn’t funny. You two are a sweep and a half away from breeding.”

He shook his head. “No, because’a the funky stuff that happened when you had Kanny, Master wants ta breed ‘im more often I guess. Or somethin’. I dunno. Point is, it’s happening now, and he ain’t gonna let Kanny keep the redblood.”

Signless tensed and muttered. “This is too soon...this won’t do. We were supposed to have more time.”

Cronus’ brows knitted together. What did the guy think was going to happen? Signless placed a heavy hand on Cronus’ shoulder and stared the boy in the eye. “Cronus, I need you to stay with Kankri today and wait until I get back. I…” he took a deep breath and Cronus’ brows furrowed even further. “There’s a man, a human I have to go see who might...perhaps be able to fix this. And you will take care of Kankri and cover for me. Do you understand?” Cronus didn’t hesitate before nodding furiously and watching as Signless’ cape swooped behind him and he made his way into the growing rain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I say huge? Because I meant huge. And then that didn't happen. Because that shit has to be broken down into two chapters. It would be WAY too long. So here's the first half of what I hinted at last time.
> 
> Lemme know whatcha think on here or on my tumblr (taylothlorien.tumblr.com).


	12. Tam Propinque Tantum Tamen Abest

Signless forged ahead in the driving rain. The market wasn’t far now, and he’d been walking for about an hour with his cloak shielding most of him from the rain as it itself got soaked. His eyes, however, remained dry. He wasn’t going to let his emotions touch him, not yet. He knew what he needed to do.

He needed to find Strider.

He listened to the sound of his old shoes smacking in the wet, muddy road and kept his eyes focused ahead until the market itself came into view. Most of the stalls were covered, but even so, the vendors were getting rained out, Several were packing their goods into their carts to haul away as soon as possible, so Signless quickened his pace.

He clearly remembered the exact stall that, twice a sweep, Strider dutifully took up as a front. He remembered the offer given to him clear as day, and he could only hope that he hadn’t lost track of time, hadn’t miscalculated how long it had been since his last visit. He didn’t know what he could do if he did miscalculate.

As he walked through the winding stall-aisles of the market, his heart sank. He reached the stall that sat rather far from the others, and it was unfortunately empty. He came to a stop in front of it and nearly deflated. He had counted wrong, and now he would have to wait. Or perhaps, even, Strider’s little side business had been discovered and he wouldn’t be coming back at all. He placed a hand to his forehead, rubbing his temples with his thumb and middle finger and groaned.

“Ey! You there!” he heard from behind him, and Signless turned, the look of defeat and frustration still on his face. “You lookin’ for that toy salesman, comes ‘round every once in a while?”

Signless nodded his answer, hand falling away from his head as the other spoke. “Rain was too much for his stuffies, so he packed up and went to the inn for the night. S’down the road just there.”

Signless’ eyes widened and he bowed a little to the blackblood farmer. “Thank you, sir,” he mumbled, as his hope once again began to bud. The man nodded in acknowledgement before continuing to pack his stall. He turned down the road, catching sight of the lights of the inn before setting out, just as determined as before, before a hand grasped his arm. He jumped and turned at the slightly colder feel of the person’s hand, eyes immediately recognizing the familiar face of Disciple.

“Dissy, what are you doing here? Did you follow me?”

She rolled her eyes and pulled her thinner cloak closer around, her massive mane of hair blowing in the wind. “Of course I followed you. I’m surprised you didn’t notice, you’ve known me for so long.”

He rolled his eyes in return. “Yes, well you happen to be a master hunter and tracker. How would I have noticed?”

She smiled at him. “I know, I was teasing you.”

He turned and began walking toward the inn again, knowing she would follow without asking. “Forgive me if I am in no mood for teasing. I have something I need to do now if you don’t mind.”

“I know that as well. That’s why I followed you.”

He stopped in his tracks and looked at her again. “What could you possibly know of this?”

“Dolorosa told me about Kankri, since she heard everything, and I knew your disappearance had something to do with it.”

He tensed and steeled his face more. “Yes, well, hopefully after this that won’t be an issue.”

“What are you trying to do?”

He looked around. There were still people going about their business, albeit bundled up to stay as dry as possible. “Not here, Dissy. You can come with me but let me go about my business.”

And with that, they continued walking toward the inn, stepping into the warm establishment and out of the rain. A plump troll wearing tinted glasses smiled up at them from a desk near the door. “Come for somethin’ specific I can help you with, travelers?”

“Ah, yes,” Signless piped up, lowering his hood. “Is there a man named Strider staying here? I wish to speak with him.”

“Strider…” Disciple whispered under her breath, trying to recall why she remembered that name.

“Strider, eh? Ah yes, Mr. Strider’s up on the top floor. Only room I’ve got up there. Buys it up every time he comes into town. You can go on up, though he’s a peculiar fellow, so best to knock even if you know ‘im.” The troll went back to reading some sort of book it seemed and Signless turned easily toward a set of stairs, Disciple in tow.

“Strider...why do I know a that name, Signless?”

“It’s not important,” he said, turning as the stairs turned back on themselves halfway up the first floor.

She grabbed his arm and forced him to halt and turn to her, though he wasn’t meeting her gaze. “Yes it is. You’ve risked a lot coming out here without permission, on a week where Master’s here no less. And I have, too. Tell me what’s going on, Signless.”

Her look was earnest, and looking at her he couldn’t hold back. It was exactly why he didn’t meet her eyes in the first place. But she had always held a special spot in his heart, and he knew he couldn’t resist telling her the truth.

“He once offered myself and Kankri safe passage to Earth with no catch. Escape. But I refused because I wanted to work toward abolition for all colorbloods, and now Kankri is in a horrible position and I can’t wait any longer. I have to get him out of here.”

She searched his eyes before asking, “And who will go with him?”

“I…” he paused. He looked down to where her hand had slipped from his arm and they were now holding hands. “I hadn’t decided whether I would join him or not. There is work to be done here if I know he will be safe on Earth, but…”

Disciple nodded, understanding without his words. “But you don’t like the idea of sending him alone.”

It was silent as they stood alone in the stairwell, the pattering of rain a distant white noise against the inn’s rooftop.

“Send Cronus with him.”

Signless’ gaze snapped up to meet hers in alarm. “What did you just say?”

“You heard me perfectly well, Signless. Send Cronus with Kankri.”

“Are you mad, Disciple? Cronus Ampora?”

She shook her head. “You’re not understanding the entire picture here. Kankri will need someone on Earth, and your job...our job isn’t finished here. We have the majority of an entire species to liberate. We can’t leave, and he will need someone with him. Cronus is more devoted to Kankri than to water and air. They could have the chance,” she squeezed his hand and his heart pulsed with old, yet familiar chemicals, “that you and I never really had.”

Signless looked at her, her eyes imploring him to consider her request. Instead, he turned and continued up the stairs, not quite breaking their contact, but silent as he climbed.

They reached the top floor and immediately were faced with a door. Signless breathed in and knocked, waiting in silence for what seemed like too short a time until the door swung open far too quickly and there he stood, the man with the dark spectacles and the poker face. “Vantas,” he intoned, face barely moving. “Good to see you again. And you brought a lady friend. Come on in.”

He stepped aside and Signless bowed his head in thanks, stepping in before Disciple. The door was closed behind them. “So, you decided you needed my services after all these years. Sorry, sweeps for y’all.”

“Ah, yes,” Signless turned toward the man and looked directly where he assumed his eyes would be. “Something has changed and I require your assistance.”

Strider wiped the corner of his mouth with his thumb. “Runnin’ away with your lover here, eh? Remember, I only got two extra seats on my ship. Yer boy is gonna be left behind.”

“I recall,” he said, glancing at Disciple. She smiled her reassurance at him and he carried on. “I am not running away. My son, Kankri, is grown now and I need to get him to safety.”

Strider nodded, walking slowly over to a small leather journal, what looked to be a ledger of sorts. “Well, it’s Tuesday. I got some clients I gotta see ‘bout some puppets tomorra’ an’ Thursday, but I can haul outta here Thursday ‘round midnight with you and yer kid.”

“Actually,” Signless took a deep breath. “I will not be going I need to take my son and his...mate to safety on Earth.”

Strider actually raised a brow at that, looking up at Signless. “You sure ‘bout that? I got facilities for settin’ people on their feet, sure, but you positive you don’t wanna be the one standin’ with ‘im when all’s said and done.”

Signless swallowed. “I’m needed here for a larger purpose. Kankri will be safe and I will return to him if and when I can. Will you take him?”

“Course. I’m a man o’my word. All you gotta do is send yer boy and his buddy to the woods ‘round back’a here and we’ll make our way all secret-like to the ship, Thursday night ‘round midnight.”

Signless let out a breath he didn’t even realize he was holding and nodded, taking Disciple’s hand and squeezing it. “Midnight on Thursday. Thank you, Mister Strider.”

“Don’t mention it,” the man said, following them to the door. “Really, don’t, if ya want it to work.”

“Understood.”

\-----

Kankri awoke to the sound of driving rain and Cronus humming a tune to himself next to him on his cot in the small hive. He could tell by the low light that Cronus had lit a fire, as the rain had darkened out the sky. He shifted a bit, cringing at the feeling of sloshing inside him and giving a small grunt, to which Cronus stopped humming and looked over at him.

“Ey, you’re awake! Took ya long enough.” Kankri rubbed at his eyes and sniffled. They were still quite warm and dry from crying so much earlier. “Come on, gotta empty out in the ablution trap ‘fore it like...gets all sloppy an’ gross inside’a ya.”

“Congeals,” Kankri said, voice groggy and face twisted in disgust, “is the word you’re looking for, Cronus. And yes, if you could help me to the ablution block, I would greatly appreciate it. I don’t want...it slopping all over the place.”

Cronus grinned, standing up. “You got it, chief!” he replied as he swooped the smaller troll into his arms. Kankri yelped and scrambled for a hold. “Cronus! Don’t do that!”

“Aw, come on, Kan. Don’tcha like it when I sweep you off yer feet?” he teased. He carried his naked boyfriend into the ablution block, who blushed madly all the while, grumbling a monologue under his breath. With his foot, Cronus kicked on the water in the ablution trap and helped Kankri to stand, draining himself and washing the genetic material from his body.

Kankri emerged from the ablution block feeling refreshed and put his clothes back on. “Well, I suppose I ought to make it back to my position at the main house.”

“Whatta you talkin’ about? It’s raining bucketloads out there. Most everyone’s gone back to their hives to weather the storm. ‘Sides, you slept for mosta the day. It’s almost supper time now.”

Kankri raised a brow, looking over at his father’s neatly-made cot. “Where is-”

“Don’t know, hey, think they’ll be making that soup with the tomatoes in it? I think it’s ‘Tula and her mom’s night and they like that stuff, too. Want I should go get some for us and bring it back here? That way you don’t gotta go out in the rain or anythin’.”

“Cronus?” Kankri crossed his arms. “What’s going on?”

“Nothin’, Kan. Don’t be crazy, babe.”

“Right...well, if that is the case, I would like to go look for my father in the common house even though it is raining. I really ought to tell him what is going on, even though Miss Maryam must have told him by now. Could you hand me my cloak?” Cronus stood between him and the door.

“Well, ya see…” Cronus scratched the back of his neck, but froze as he heard wet footfalls approaching the hive. Both of the young trolls looked out the small window to see Signless walking down the dirt path in the rain, cloak drawn up and hood over his horns. “Hey look, there he is! No need to go out in the rain now, huh, chief?”

Kankri kept a brow raised, but walked over and opened the door for his father regardless, waiting for him to shake off a bit under the eaves before stepping inside. “What were you doing out in the rain, Papa? You’ll catch your death, like Miss Maryam says.” He took the cloak his father shed and after shaking it off in the corner, he laid it over a chair near the fire to dry.

“Don’t worry about me, little one. I’m fine.” He sat on his cot to unlace his boots. “How are you faring?”

Kankri sighed and sat on the floor in front of his father, helping him with his boots. “Miss Maryam told you about my fate, I presume?”

“Actually…” Cronus piped up from his new spot on Kankri’s cot. “I may’ve told ‘im? I, uh, sorta thought it was important and all, you know, see if he knew of a solution or somethin’.”

Signless nodded as he finished taking off his boots. “Thank you for that, Cronus, as I’m sure I may have heard through the grapevine far too late.” He stood and placed his shoes by the fire before squatting down next to his son. “I’ve been gone so long because I did, indeed, find a solution for you.”

Kankri furrowed his brows. “How could you have possibly found a solution? There is no solution. I have no other choice.”

Signless sighed and stood up, pacing over to the windowsill where sat Kankri’s old stuffed crab. He picked the toy up and smiled down at it, remembering simpler days when he was the troll’s world and when the questions never ended. The toy was meant to be Strider’s calling card…

“Kankri, do you remember where we got this?”

“Well, of course. That nice human at the market let me pick one out for all of us.”

Cronus smiled and chuckled, “And you picked out a seahorse for me. I still got it, y’know?”

Signless smiled and sat down again on his bed, beckoning for Kankri to join him. He did so, hesitantly, taking the toy from his father’s hands. “That human offered me something large that day. He offered two seats on his space ship, free travel to Earth for no charge.” Kankri’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open to say something, but Signless continued. “But I said no, then, because I had everyone else on this plantation to worry about. You were all so small and I couldn’t just leave Miss Maryam and my dearest friends behind.” He sighed. “So, I said no, and he told me to come back if I needed to take him up on that offer some day in the future.” He placed a hand on Kankri’s and smiled slightly down at his son. “Now is that time.”

“But I- but you- and he- wait-” Kankri stuttered, trying to comprehend what was happening. Passage to Earth, he knew, meant a lot. After entering Earth’s atmosphere, a runaway slave was immediately freed, but how…how could this possibly be happening.

Cronus was on his feet in a moment. “Ain’t no way I’m lettin’ you take Kanny away from me, Mister Vantas! I’m goin’ with him if I have to sit in the cargo pit!”

Signless smiled sadly at the toy Kankri was holding, then looked up calmly at Cronus. “Do sit down and calm yourself, Cronus. I wasn’t finished speaking.” Cronus huffed, fins flaring, before he flopped down, arms crossed. “There are, as I said, two seats on this man’s ship. One for you, Kankri.” He took a breath. “And one for you, Cronus.”

Kankri’s eyes snapped up to his father’s. “Papa?”

Signless placed a hand on Kankri’s shoulder and squeezed. “You need someone to take care of you on Earth when you need it and I can’t be there, and did you really think with all of my talk of abolition all these years, I would not still try to make that happen? With you safe and far away from the mayhem, I can finally start helping people. When my work is done, I will come find you and we can be together again. Until then,” Signless removed his hand and gestured at Cronus, whose fins had perked up and whose face slowly was overcome with a smile, “Cronus can be there for you.”

Kankri shook his head violently and stood, throwing the toy down onto the cot. “No! This is far too dangerous for everyone involved. If this fails, if we are caught or if you are caught or perhaps all of us are caught, the stakes are far too high. I will not have you all risking your lives for me. I will be fine! I will be...fine..”

Signless stood in front of his son, placing both of his hands on the troll’s shoulders and making direct eye contact. “I have always given you choice, and explained everything to you, but this is something where you have no choice. You are going. I will not stand by and let you experience everything I had to if I can help it at all, and I can. You are going and that is final. Do you understand me?” As he spoke, his voice had risen to a stern near-yell, and Kankri froze, tears finally streaming down his face. He was surprised he had any left.

“But I don’t want to leave you,” he whispered.

Signless deflated a little at the broken tone his son spoke in. “Kankri, I...you have to. I will do my very best to keep in contact, I will find a way. But you have to.”

Kankri felt a cool hand on his shoulder, even through his sweater, and Cronus smiled down at him. “And I’ll be there, Kanny. We’ll do fine. Don’tcha trust me and your pops?” After a moment of hesitation, Kankri nodded, but still, he was scared to his core.

\-----

Wednesday came and went with little advent, aside from Porrim stitching up two drawstring bags that evening for Cronus and Kankri to pack their things in. Only a few knew what was happening. Miss Maryam and Porrim, of course, and Dualscar who had taken some convincing on Signless’ part but eventually came around to the idea with plans for the future, and Disciple, who had known from the start. The rain continued, so the trolls were working inside, be it the storehouses, stables, or the main house. Kankri mourned the loss of his library quietly as he shelved the new books Master had brought home from his most recent trip.

It was Thursday at noon, when the rain was coming down in a slower drizzle and most of the slave trolls were out working on flood-control when Mituna and Psiioniic were paged to the main house. A wave of relief flooded Kankri, thinking Master would have to rush off and their escape would be smoother than they all had anticipated. Cronus smiled at him from his place a few rows over as they worked in the rain and he felt slightly calmer.

It was an hour later, however, when Miss Maryam came walking out from the main house with an umbrella and walked into the fields with a grim look on her face. She made her way over to Signless and Kankri, and Cronus’ earfins perked up to try and hear from his spot, yards away.

“Signless, Kankri...I’m so sorry…” she began, head bowed and face pained.

“What is it, Rosa?” Signless asked, dropping his pick that he had been using to clear and deepen their trenches and move water along better.

“Master has been called away to a meeting tomorrow. He’ll leave this evening, but he did want to finish his,” she cleared her throat, “business with Kankri before he left.”

Kankri and his father looked at eachother, Kankri’s face full of horror, and Signless’ full of dread.

“I’ve been sent to summon Kankri at once and prep him for breeding.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had to break the massive update that was supposed to happen last time into thirds, geez. Here's the second part. Let me know what you think! I love comments.


	13. Procreo et Effugium

Kankri’s immediate reaction was to freeze. His eyes fixated on the ground near Miss Maryam’s feet and his vision went ever-so-slightly blurry. His mind continued to run, asking him what he really thought would happen. Did he really think they would get away so easily and scott-free? Did he really think he could avoid this?

He heard the hushed and hurried tones of Signless and Dolorosa talking so that no others could hear, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying. His father was...angry, more angry than Kankri had ever heard him, and Dolorosa sounded defeated, as if she had already fought this battle. Kankri felt his heart rate pick up and his gut sink, but he logically knew that nothing could change it now.

“Okay,” he whispered, then he looked up at Miss Maryam, his face still unsure, but swiftly hardening to protect himself and his emotions. “Okay. I’ll follow you, Miss Maryam.”

He watched his father’s shoulders fall and tilt his head to the side, mumbling out, “Oh, Kankri...little one…” before he was swiftly enveloped in his father’s arms.

Signless buried his face in his son’s hair as he felt the younger begin to tremble slightly. “You’re going to be okay,” he whispered, so only Kankri could hear. “I promise you’re going to be okay. We’ll get you out once master’s gone, I promise.”

He waited for a moment before Kankri gave a miniscule nod. “I love you, little one.”

“I love you too,” was mumbled into his chest before Signless squeezed his son one last time and let him step away to the guiding, motherly arm of Miss Maryam. He watched the two walk away slowly, Kankri’s head slightly down. As they passed the group Cronus was working with, they halted as the seadweller walked over and demanded answers, immediately growing upset and having his father pull him away. He watched his son give a lingering glance to Cronus, full of sadness and heartbreak, before their hands parted and Kanri and Dolorosa made their way in the rain up to the house.

\-----

While Kankri had been educated on how this was supposed to happen in the breeding room, as all of his peers were one day in the common house, he didn’t expect all of the pomp and circumstance beforehand. Miss Maryam and Porrim had stripped him of his clothes and made him shower with extreme care and meticulousness. When he stepped out, flushed from the heat of the water they would not let him change, he was dried from top to bottom and patted with some sort of powder on a large fluffy puff. He thought he smelled somewhere between a rose and a candied cherry.

And as he was being led from the little slave bathroom near the kitchen, to the breeding room via the back halls specifically made for the slave trolls, he noticed the looks Porrim was giving him and he scowled. He understood Miss Maryam pitying him, wanting to mother him and protect him, like his father did. Miss Maryam had always been close to his father, so he understood the extension of care. But Porrim was his equal, he actually older than her by a few perigees. He didn’t need her pity. He...he was going to be fine.

They slowed as they neared the back entrance of the breeding room, Dolorosa, reaching out a hand to take the towel she had let Kankri use for the walk to feel more comfortable. “I’ll have your clothes ready when Master lets you out, alright?” Her voice was so soft and kind, and Kankri felt himself relax, even if it was very little. He nodded and handed her the towel, turning himself toward the door. His arm, however, was stopped by Porrim.

“Kanny, I’m so sorry you have to…” and the tone of her voice, so full of pity and not the romantic kind, was enough for Kankri to snap.

“I don’t need your pity, Porrim. I will be fine,” he said, through gritted teeth. The hand on his arm stayed for a moment, tensed, before it slipped away. He heard Miss Maryam murmur something to Porrim before he heard Porrim’s fading footsteps. Kankri took a breath.

Dolorosa knocked on the door with two sharp knocks, before the nonchalant voice of Master came muffled through the walls, “Yes, Dolorosa, you may bring him in.”

Slowly, she turned the knob, and even slower she opened the door, guiding them both into a room that had not one, but fourteen trolls of black blood occupying it. Even she froze at the sight, before offering up a small, “Master?” as Kankri covered his sheath and nook in a panic.

Behind Master in various stages of standing and sitting, all of them looking bored, were the thirteen clutchmates to Kankri himself and all of his peers. Master looked up with a tedious look on his face, his long arching horns looking intimidating in the light, and spoke.

“What is it, Dolorosa?”

“Pardon my saying, but isn’t it rather...indecent to have so many extra trolls in the room when you breed your slaves?” Kankri looked at her as the obviously uncomfortable words left her mouth relatively unscathed. He envied her projected calm.

Master sighed and looked at his nails. “Well if I don’t train them now, they’ll never learn. They leave the plantation next perigee and I won’t be back until dark season at the earliest.” He raised his eyes to look at her and his brows followed. “Unless you think it is your place to question my judgement as your Master and your better, I suggest you leave me to my business, Jade blood.”

Kankri watched Miss Maryam’s back stiffen before she nodded and curtsied. “I apologize, Master.” Her throat moved slightly as she swallowed and Kankri felt the break in his heart wedge slightly further apart. “It won’t happen again.”

“Very well,” the blackblood said, bored tone returning to his voice. “You may take your leave. I’ve no use of you until this is done.” She nodded and curtsied again before gently pushing Kankri further forward, planting a loving pap on his left cheek and a kiss to his forehead before she was gone, teary eyes and all.

Kankri stood alone covering his genitals with his hands in a room full of trolls who technically owned him. He was simultaneously paralyzed with fear and panic and rapidly calming as his mind decided to pack its bags for a swift vacation.

Master turned toward his children and spoke. “Now then. What’s the first thing that should be done when one breeds their breeder slaves. Alexander?”

One of the black-bloods, a tall one, responded. “Strapping them down to the bench to minimize struggle and increase efficiency?”

“A textbook answer, boy, bravo.” Kankri watched as the troll beamed at his display of sickening knowledge. “You may do the honors, then. Kankri, come now.” Kankri hesitated, not exactly sure where he was supposed to be moving. “Boy, come here. I haven’t got all day. I’ve business to attend to,” Master snapped, and Kankri quickly moved, head down, to the side of the bench where Master was standing and the blackblood, Alexander, was at his side in no time.

“Now, how is this done, Louisa?”

A female no taller than Kankri smiled, and bobbed her head eagerly with her answer. “The slave lays down on his or her back and surrenders their arms and legs to the master, who uses the attached straps to secure the breeder in optimum position.”

“Very well done. You did your reading, hm, darling?” Master smiled and the girl giggled and nodded. “Go ahead, Alexander. Kankri, on your back.” Again, Kankri hesitated, and again, Master snapped. “Kankri, I suggest you hop to the orders you’re given. I do not like to use discipline in breeding, but I will if I must.”

“Yes, Master,” Kankri muttered, moving to climb on the bench he realized would strap him to his dire fate. “I’m sorry, Master.”

Master’s eyes remained locked on him as he laid down. “Christopher, what methods of discipline are appropriate during breeding of breeder slaves?”

A blackblood with glasses and backswept hair answered thoughtfully, as Alexander stepped forward and began fastening down Kankri’s right arm at two points. “Um, anything that will not damage carrying areas, such as the nook or the abdomen. All other parts of the body are subject to discipline as the master sees fit?”

Master nodded, and stepped aside for Alexander to continue strapping down Kankri’s limbs. He willed himself to stay calm, at least on the outside. He could freak out later, right? He shouldn’t in front of all of these trolls. It would only make things worse, surely. Now, his arms were both strapped down, and Master asked another, “What is the anatomy of the bench, Perry?”

“A leather padded bench of table height with extensions for arm placement and adjustable stirrups for the display of the breeder’s nook at the master’s will,” one answered boredly.

“Do try to pay attention, Perry,” Master sighed as Kankri’s first leg was strapped to the stirrup and moved wide away from his hip. There was absolutely no modesty left to him now. No dignity.

“And Charles, explain the process of the breed itself. The rest of you best take notes on this part, as you won’t be given the chance to aid with this.” Kankri mentally breathed a sigh of relief. “Feel free to document how you will for your own purposes with your own breeders.” The relief was quickly gone.

“The goal,” a nasal-sounding troll piped up from behind Kankri’s head, “is to reach the inner seed flap where genetic material can be stored, and to fill the reservoir there as well as the remainder of the nook for maximum chances at fertilization.” Master nodded, and Kankri could see him fiddling with his belt boredly, taking his time in removing it. “What else, Harrison?”

“Hm...oh! This could take, like, anywhere from two to five loads of genetic material, between which the breeder must stay as still as possible and the master must stay seated inside the breeder’s nook so no material leaks out or is wasted.”

“And what prevents the leaks, Cindy?” Master asked, unbuttoning his pants now.

“The...oh, what’s it called...the...the plug?”

“Very well done, all of you,” Master intoned, giving a tired smile to his fellow blackbloods above Kankri. “I’m afraid you’ll have to leave from now on, but does everyone have any questions before I send you all off?”

The room was silent and Kankri begged whatever powers that be that it stayed that way. The in-depth analysis of what he was experiencing was torture enough. He just wanted it to be over.

The powers that be, Kankri thought, didn’t like him. “Yes, George?”

“Do the breeder trolls...do they like breeding?”

Master laughed and Kankri felt his gut twist into a massive knot. “Of course they do, George! That’s all they’re good for! Makes them feel good, as well. They like being full and they like being useful. It’s their purpose in life and they couldn’t ask for anything more. What a ridiculous question. Honestly, it’s like you consider them to be your equals.” Master huffed and shook his head. “Any more questions?” Silence. “No? Alright, out with the lot of you, then. I’ve a slave to breed.”

And the shuffling of thirteen pairs of feet was heard for a minute before the room was again quiet and Kankri was alone with Master. The blackblood checked his watch and scowled at it. “Not enough hours in the day…” he muttered, as he moved his underwear out of the way, allowing his bulge to unsheathe. “Alright, Kankri, I’ve not got enough time to go a full five, so be a good little breeder and fill fast for me, won’t you?”

Kankri wasn’t sure if he should burst into panicked tears or nod, so he stayed silent, hoping it was perceived as submissive. He cried out in pain as he was roughly and suddenly entered, with no warning or preparation. He tried not to compare this to what he and Cronus had done in his head, even though the comparison entirely favored their time together. That was loving and they took time and it was nothing at all like this rough thrusting and searching that seemed to be tearing him in half. His face became covered in red tears as he was forced through the rushing of one, two, three painful releases of his master. The time seemed to drag on more and more and he shook with silent sobs, waiting for it to be over. He didn’t dare to sneak a glance at the face above him, knowing it would be frustrated and bored at the same time while he violated his slave, another troll, another equally sentient being without a qualm, without a care in the universe.

With a look down at his stomach, Kankri could see it bulging out now rather disgustingly. Who was he kidding, the whole thing was disgusting, abhorrent. He would give anything to be done, he thought.

And perhaps the powers that be took pity on him, because as he thought this, a fourth release rushed into his body, his abdomen stretching further, before Master sighed. "Hm...yes, I think you're full enough. I've not got time for more in any case. If it doesn't take, we'll try again when I return, mm?" He fumbled with something in his pocket before Kankri felt the double stretch forced upon him of a plug and a bulge. Fresh tears sprung forth, silent now entirely. What was the point of noise? It would do nothing to aid him now.

Master slid out, the only color on him black as Kankri had remained bone dry the entire time, bulge not nearly interested in desheathing either. None of the fluid moved. It sat inside him, heavy and painful. "Now you keep that in for four nights. I know the standard is less, but I want to ensure it sticks as best I can," Master said casually, cleaning himself off with a small nearby cloth and straightening his clothes. "I'll ring for Dolorosa." And with that and the sharp sound of a bell, he was gone, leaving Kankri strapped to the bench, full of slurry and covered in tears.

\-----

Signless waited anxiously in the back hall with Dolorosa. She had stopped trying to calm him, instead waiting anxiously herself. But when the bell rang out, he nearly ripped off the door in his haste to get inside, to get to his son.

What he saw broke his heart.

Kankri was alone, strapped to the bench still, shaking with tears dripping down his face. Signless rushed to his side, murmuring, "Little one, little one, it's alright. I'm here, you're okay. Shh, shhh..." in a constant refrain. Signless found himself shaking as well as he and Dolorosa made quick works of Kankri’s bindings. He had barely released one arm when Dolorosa had finished with the rest of the boy, his boy. He didn’t hesitate to pick Kankri up, noticing the addition to his son’s weight as he had carried him to bed time and time again after he fell asleep reading by the fire. He grimaced but pressed on, covering him with his cloak before they exited the room, heading back to the hallway where Kankri’s clothes were waiting.

The silence of his son only served to spook Signless further. Kankr was rarely silent. He had an opinion about everything, and was quick to form one where he lacked one. When he was angry, he was a fireball of rage, and when he was sad, his sobs weren’t quiet. Except now. His face was rather blank but his eyes held the pain that Signless had experienced himself, though much older than Kankri had been. Tears continued to stream down but it would be a stretch to say that he was actually crying. Signless continued his murmured comforts as he and Dolorosa helped Kankri dress.

“Can you walk, Kankri dear?” Dolorosa asked, and Signless looked to his son’s face as he nodded, clearly trying in vain to collect himself.

“Lean on me, little one,” Signless whispered, and he tucked his arm around his son as they made their way in the rain back to their quarters, the rest of the day’s work forgotten.

\-----

Cronus watched as Master left the property for his ship with Psiioniic in tow, Mituna at the ready in the house for any incoming transmissions from his father. He was a nervous ball of rage as he waited, but the moment the black-blood was out of sight, he snuck away from his work a little early to go see Kankri. His father followed, growling at Grand who shook his head at their disobedience as they walked past him and Kurloz. Their walk, for the most part, was silent, until they reached the line of trees that hid the slave quarters from the view of the main house. Then, Dualscar spoke up.

“I’m gonna miss ya’, boy. Y’know tha’?” Cronus froze. He turned on his heel and faced his father, who still seemed to tower over him even though they were nearing in height. His brow must have been furrowed, as Dualscar continued, “Don’ be so surprised like tha’. I’ve always loved ya’ an’ I don’ say it much, but I’m proud. Ya’ve got Ampora dedication, tha’s for certain, an’ if I never get to see ya again-”

“Dad-”

“No, let me say ma piece. I don’ think I’ll ever make it to Earth even if Vantas succeeds in what he’s gettin’ at. Don’t think it’s in ma cards. But I want ya’ ta know that I’m proud of ya an’ I love ya, with all ma heart. More than I could ever hate Spinneret, more than the water an’ the air combined. I’ll miss ya.”

Cronus let his chin wobble ever so slightly before crushing his father in a hug. Never had he been able to hear such heartfelt words from his father. He was a man of select speech and he and Cronus fought more often than not, and he hated that it took the circumstances it did before he could hear them. His heart swelled, his fears pushed to the side of disappointing the older troll, and with a watery voice he spoke up, “You will see me again, I promise. Got it?”

Dualscar chuckled but shook his head. “Don’ make promises ya can’t keep, Cro.”

“I will.” He stood back and looked up at his father, determined. “I will keep it. Even if it’s only through some sorta fancy science phone ‘cross the universe, I’ll see you again.”

Dualscar placed a hand on his son’s shoulder and guided him back into stride, still shaking his head. “Ampora determination, too, eh? Glad I passed on all the annoyin’ traits.”

\-----

Immediately upon returning to the hive, Signless had guided Kankri to the ablution trap and ordered him against Master’s orders to flush out the slurry. It took a moment because it was fresh, but soon enough, Kankri’s stomach was back to normal -- still achy, but flat again -- and he sat curled with his things to take with him on his father’s cot. His bag was minimal, but it was all he had. All three of the sweaters Porrim had knitted him, his extra socks and boots, his crab stuffie, all wrapped in the quilt Miss Maryam had made him. His boots were discarded on the floor, and his father leaned against the cot, not talking, both staring at the small fire in the fireplace.

Kankri was...he didn’t know what he was. He thought he must be a thousand things. He was tired, that was certain, and he was scared of what he had just faced and what he was about to face. Cronus had visited him, forced him to assure him that he was okay and that they would still go through with everything. He was scared to hope that the breed hadn’t taken. Four loads was...a lot. And Kankri was young.

He was scared to leave, worried that even though he had read extensively of the culture on Earth, he would know nothing. He was more worried about how his father would fare without him than what he would do on Earth.

In a small voice, he finally broke his silence. “What will happen to you, Papa?”

Signless looked up, surprised that Kankri had spoken at all after being quiet and broken for so long. “What do you mean?”

“When I leave…” Kankri picked at his sock. “When Cronus and I are gone, what will you do?” Signless didn’t answer. “Will you stay? Will you go off? What will happen to the others?”

Signless sighed and looked back into the fire. “I don’t know what will happen, Kankri. I will try to save the others, and I will advocate and spread the good word as far as I can.”

Kankri nodded, understanding, but he stared down at his sock once more and asked, “Will I ever get to see you again, really?”

Signless stared into the fire, and murmured, “I don’t know…”

\-----

When night fell, Cronus and Dualscar met Signless and Kankri in the trees behind the slave quarters. No words were spoken, nodding and gesturing enough for the covert party. Disciple kept watch behind them, silent as a leaf on the wind, and they made their way through the woods. A network of woods made the way to the town, where they turned and went around to the trees behind the inn. It took little searching to find Strider, who nodded for them to follow.

In the dark of the night, they made their way to a clearing with a spaceship parked in the center. “It ain’t much,” Bro said, gesturing to the ship. “But she’ll get us to Earth easy. Say yer goodbyes, boys. Gotta keep a schedule.”

Cronus turned to Dualscar, whose face looked as angry as usual. “Take care a’ him, boy. They’re countin’ on ya.”

Cronus nodded. “I will.” He leaned in for a short, tight hug, mumbling in his dad’s ear, “Love ya,” before stepping away.

Signless held his son tight, kissing his head and forcing tears not to fall. “I love you, little one, Kankri. I love you so much. I’m sorry this is the best I can do for you.”

Kankri shook his head against his father’s chest. “No. You did everything for me, stop that talk. I love you, too.” Their conversation was a whisper on the wind, private to the two of them. Disciple finally caught up and smiled at Signless over Kankri’s shoulder, and Signless remembered again why he wasn’t following his son to freedom. He stepped back, holding Kankri by the shoulders and smiled.

“Go live, little one. Go live.”

Kankri sniffled and nodded, stepping back and looking to Cronus, who immediately grabbed his hand and placed an arm around him. “Let’s go, Kanny.”

And they followed Bro Strider to the ship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew that one's a doozy. Hope you all broke your hearts like I did. Tumblr's taylothlorien if you wanna chat about it. I love reading your comments, too, so keep them coming!


	14. Dederunt Hyacinthum

“And this is the room y’all can stay in. ‘S a little small but can’t be complainin’, can we?” Bro said, pointing to the door in front of them. The space ship was small, just a cockpit with a loft, a tiny kitchenette, an even tinier ablution block, and a room above the cargo hold. After they had taken off and the atmosphere of Beforus was far behind them, they were being shown around the ship where they would spend the next perigee before they arrived on Earth.

“This place is so cool, don’tcha think, Kanny?” Cronus asked, stepping into the room and spinning around. “I never thought I’d ever be on a space ship b’fore!”

Kankri stepped in after him, depositing his bag next to the door. “Yes, I suppose it is...cool.”

Bro looked at the two teenagers -- he had never understood troll terminology, and he could do the calculations well enough in his head to know these two were 18 in human years -- in front of him. He had smuggled countless trolls over the years and he knew what they should be going through right about now. Never one to intrude unless it was his family, he took a step back into the tiny hall. “I’ll be leavin’ you two to it, fer now.”

“Thank you, Mister Strider,” Kankri muttered as the door closed between them and he was left in this metal room with Cronus. He shuffled his feet, uncomfortable.

“Ain’t this great, Kanny?” Cronus asked, crossing the room to hold his boyfriend’s hands in his own. “Are you okay?”

“Cronus…” he whispered, slouching to sit down on the bed against the wall. “I...am not in a state to enjoy this right now.”

“Whaddya mean, Kan, we’re in space! We’re gonna be free soon. Aren’tcha happy?”

Kankri took a deep breath. “Cronus. I have just had everything ripped out from under me, right after being brutally raped by my owner, which is already enough of a statement to cause distress, and I could possibly be with grub, and you think I am ready to be happy mere hours after this?” He hadn’t realized as he spoke that his voice was raising, but by the end of the sentence he was shouting, glaring at Cronus who had leaned back with a slight look of shock in his face. Kankri deflated, placing his head in his hands. “I’m sorry, I’m a mess, and I know that I have no right to be. Papa couldn’t after he was bred and I shouldn’t either but I-”

He was cut off as Cronus started rubbing his back in circles, scooting closer. “Hey, shh, Kanny, it’s okay. You can be upset, you’re more’n allowed to feel hurt.” Kankri allowed Cronus to scoot closer to him as he talked, his voice calming like waves on the lake they’d grown up near. “What you been through is real rough, and I don’t think anyone’s gonna blame you for being upset ‘bout it years from now.” Kankri leaned into Cronus, letting his hands drop away from his face. “But you can’t let it eatcha alive.”

Cronus’ other hand came up to toy with Kankri’s hair. “You just wait an’ see. We’ll get ta Earth, an’ just like Bro said, we’ll go through those classes at the refugee cen’er, an’ we’ll get those certificates er whatever so I can get a job, an’ you can go to a university, an’ we’ll get our own place an’ live normal lives. Just wait an’ see, ‘cause everything’s gonna be fine, okay?”

Cronus didn’t say anything else as Kankri finally let everything fully wash over him and he cried himself to sleep in Cronus’ arms, rocking back and forth gently as though they were on a sea vessel instead of a space ship.

\-----

Everyday for two weeks, Kankri looked in the mirror in dread as the swelling from the breeding didn’t go down quite as much as he thought it should. In fact, three weeks in, he was sure it had plateaued. And as they were preparing to land on Earth, he looked in the mirror again, pulling up his shirt to his ribcage for the hundredth time. Sure enough, it seemed as though he was a little bit bigger.

  
“Kan? Kanny, we gotta go strap in. We’re enterin’ the atmosph-whatever soon.” Cronus opened the door and saw Kankri looking at his stomach. “Hey, babe, what’s up? Why aren’t you comin’?”

  
“Cronus, do you think…” Kankri placed a hand on his stomach, still looking at it in the mirror. “Do you think that I’m with grub?”

  
Cronus sighed and walked over. “I ain’t no doctor, Kanny. But I can tell you this: If you’ve got wrigglers in there, I’ll be raisin’ ‘em with you. Don’t matter much to me if that’s now or fifty billion years from now.”

  
“In fifty billion years, we’ll be dead,” Kankri corrected, shoving his shirt back down.

  
“Whatever. Look, the point is, it’ll be fine.”

  
Kankri really, really hoped it would be.

  
\-----

  
The landing was just as hard as the take-off had been a perigee before this. Which was, of course to say, mildly terrifying, nerve inducing, and awful on Kankri’s stomach. He hadn’t actually thrown up when they were leaving the only planet he’d ever known, but he certainly wanted to. He simply had the strength to hold it in out of courtesy. This time, he held his hand to his mouth, hoping to stop himself from losing his lunch.

Bro looked over at the two, strapped in off to his side in his ship as they neared Earth’s atmosphere. “You don’look s’good, kid,” he commented. Kankri couldn’t answer.  
Cronus looked over. Kankri really didn’t look good. “Hey, uh, Bro, you think I could unstrap for a sec an’ grab Kanny a bag?”

  
“No can do, boys, we’re entering the atmo and givin’ you freedom in 3…” he pressed a button, “2…” pulled a lever, “1.” There was a bit of a shift and the sky around them changed a bit of color. It was not longer the deep black of space but the sky of a habitable planet, the type of sky they hadn’t seen in a perigee.

  
They were descending rapidly toward a continent, one Kankri recognized from his books as North America through the wisps of clouds. It looked to be a sunny day on Earth.

Cronus’ eyes widened. Maybe this would help distract his boyfriend, make him feel a bit more settled. “Shit, Kanny, where are we headin’ toward?”

  
Kankri swallowed and did his best to dutifully answer. “North America,” he said quietly.

  
“America, wow…” Cronus breathed out. “Where’d you say we’re settin’ up at?” He looked over to Kankri and Bro both, knowing either would know the answer.

  
“We’ll land in good ol’ Houston, Texas in a bit here, an’ we’ll get you settled. Agency’s got different places to set trolls up at, but that’s a drive. You’re stayin’ with me ‘til they find a spot for ya.” He took a moment to pause. “Me an’ my little twerp brothers.”

  
Kankri swallowed. He was familiar with the term, brothers. Technically, he had some. Two, in fact. But he’d never known which ones were his siblings and in troll culture, such a relationship didn’t exist. He asked, as controlled as he could, “Do trolls on Earth adopt human customs entirely?”

  
Bro seemed to consider this as he pulled another lever slowly, controlling their descent. “For th’most part, yeah. Leastways the ones that’s born here. The ones what’s adults when they come here have a harder time, but s’easy to translate months an’ perigees and meowbeasts an’ cats. Most trolls who come try to change ‘cause nobody wants to remember what they been through.” That seemed a reasonable enough answer.

As they drew closer, able to see the land more detailed, Bro pulled on the speed lever, slowing them to a more casual flying speed. He flipped a switch and cleared his throat. “Dirk,” he spoke.“Come in, ya lil’asshole.”

For the first time in a perigee, they heard the voice of someone besides those on the ship. “Fuck you too,” a younger version of Bro’s voice answered over the speaker.  
“We’re comin’ in hot, get some space ready and order some pizzas. Have Hal do his landin’ shit.”

  
“Done,” the disembodied voice answered, and it was gone.

They were now speeding toward a city, slowing down but still moving far too fast for Kankri’s liking. Cronus was in awe, looking around as much as he could while strapped in his safety harness. “Ain’t it amazin’, Kanny?”

  
Kankri had closed his eyes, really trying not to lose the contents of his stomach. “Cronus, p-please stop talking.” He was pale now, almost a sickly tone to his grey skin.

Bro glanced over. “Mayhaps we’ll get a doc to stop by once we land.”

At that, as they started to glide much slower and safer over the buildings of Houston, a more robotic version of Bro and the young-Bro’s voice echoed through the ship. “Cleared for landing, Bro. I’ll have Dirk call a doctor.”

“Thanks, Hal,” Strider answered, and guided the ship toward a tall building.

Kankri frowned. He knew that human technology was good, and that they had engineered many things that trolls had lost during the Blackblood Revolution, but he didn’t think that robotics were so common. He made a mental note to ask about that when his stomach wasn’t churning violently.

Soon enough, the ship was hovering over a near-skyscraper and Bro did his best to settle the ship down in the center of the roof, on top of a large letter ‘S’. Not that Kankri noticed this with his eyes screwed shut. The second, however, that the ship stopped moving and all of the noise from it died down, Kankri was out of his restraints and running to the nearest bin to let go of everything he was holding down. The offending slosh landed with disgusting noises that made Cronus wrinkle his nose but nevertheless, his father had told him to take care of the troll. That was the reason he was granted freedom. Combining that with the swell of pity in his heart for the other, he stood from his restraints and went to rub Kankri’s back. “S’okay, Kanny. Let it out an’ we’ll go rest up, yeah?”

  
Kankri wiped his face and nodded. It was all gone. He was sure of it by the empty feeling inside himself as he finally stood back up from bending over. “Okay,” he agreed.

Cronus smiled his sharp smile at his boyfriend as he heard the hiss of decompression. The door they’d entered in a perigee - er, a month ago, was lifting, and daylight flooded into the small space. Their bags were already nestled next to it in a bin and Cronus grabbed them as Bro approached, stepping out into the hot sun. The human stretched in the sun, turning around. “C’mon out, yer not stayin’ in there.”

Cronus patted Kankri’s back, guiding him out. Together, they stepped out onto the rooftop, into the light of the sun for the first time in so long, and they looked out over the city, out to the green outside of it, land as far as the eye could see. “Wouldja lookit that, Kanny?” Cronus asked, nodding out to the landscape before them. “Earth.”

  
“Not just any part’a Earth,” Bro corrected. “America. Land’a the free an’-”

“And home of the brave,” Kankri finished for him, looking out in awe of the new world.

Strider, however, didn’t give them too long to gawk. “Right. All tha’good shit. Hotter than a prostitute’s tits out’ere, c’mon inside.” And while Kankri wrinkled his nose at the vulgarity, he had to agree and followed along with Cronus off the roof and into a strange building. “Penthouse is Casa Del Strider, the floors below we rent out. Gotta pull in the big bucks,” he explained as they descended the stairs and were met with a door with a little hole filled with glass in it. It wasn’t locked, or perhaps Strider had been too fast at unlocking it -- as the trolls had found, there were many things he could do with extreme speed -- and soon it was open and they were walking inside to see a human that looked a bit younger than them and nearly a clone of the one they’d been traveling with.

“Quiet,” the human commanded. “Dave’s sleeping.”

  
“Kid’ll sleep through a meteor hittin’ Earth,” Bro shrugged. “Introduce yerself instead’a makin’ demands, who the hell raised yer ass?”

  
“You,” the other human countered, but walked over and extended a fist to Cronus and Kankri. “Dirk Strider.”

Kankri looked down at the fist. What was he supposed to do with that? Cronus, however, made a fist himself and stuck it out, obviously trying to play along. “Cronus Ampora.” Dirk closed the distance and their fists bumped together before he held it out to Kankri.

Kankri looked somewhat confused, but followed the gesture. “...Kankri Vantas.” Dirk’s

eyebrow flickered in a hint of a brow-raise, but to anyone but a Strider, nothing happened at all. Everything went quiet.

“Well don’t just stand there. I brought’em’ere an’ I’m gettin’ ‘em set up soon enough. Show ‘em to a damn room,” Bro commanded as he flopped down on some sort of couch, an odd one to Kankri, and pulled his hat off. “I need a breather.”

“Thanks for that, man,” Cronus added in. “Really.”

Bro waved a hand. “Anythin’ to piss off those blackblood asshole rapists,” and then he turned on the television, tuning them out it seemed.

Dirk gestured down a hall. “This way,” he said, walking ahead of them along the carpeted floor to one of the rooms. “Bathroom’s attached to the room, so just take your time and we’ll call you when the food’s ready. Adjusting’s pretty hard for a lot of trolls,” he commented, “so take your time with it. If you need to sleep, sleep. Need to ask questions, we’ve got answers.”

Kankri felt a little tension leave his shoulders. He’d been reading for years, yes, but he knew he had a lot to learn. Knowing his questions would be answered was a huge relief. “Thank you, Dirk,” he murmured, but the human caught it without difficulty.

“It’s what we do.” Dirk opened the door to the bedroom, a clean room with a bed, television, dresser, and a door that they assumed lead to the ablution block- or rather, bathroom. “Get some rest. Hal ordered a doctor for, who Hal?” He paused a moment. “Oh. Kankri. For you. Someone will come this afternoon.”

Kankri furrowed his brows. “I’m sorry, but I’m confused. Who is this ‘Hal’?”

“Hal is my AI. He can hear stuff through my shades, connects to Bro’s ship, and can go anywhere with an internet or phone connection. He can see through cameras and saw that you looked sick on the ship when Bro mentioned it. He’s telling me that he ordered you a doctor,” Dirk answered matter-of-factly.

Kankri paused, not sure of what to say, but shook his head. He’d have to accept it. It was far too much to process right now.

Cronus smiled a little nervously. He didn’t understand any of that crap. The arm he had around Kankri gently led him to the room. “Kanny just needs to lay down now. Long trip.”

“No doubt.”

As Cronus followed his boyfriend into the room, he thanked Dirk once more, and closed the door behind them.

\-----

Kankri looked down at the triangle on his plate. It was...interesting. “What did you say this was again?” he asked, looking at the ‘food.’  
“Pizza,” Dirk answered. “Just bread with tomato sauce, cheese, and meat on it.” To Kankri, those sounded like an awful combination. That being said, he’d only eaten stews all of his life. He’d never seen anything like this.

Cronus was already eating his slice happily. “Just try it, Kanny. You’ll like it.” Kankri didn’t quite believe him, but nevertheless he picked up the slice as he’d seen Dirk and Cronus do, and took a very small bite from the tip, chewing the greasy food with a look of confusion on his face. When he finally swallowed, he put it down. “Well?” Cronus asked.

“It’s...is it some sort of human delicacy?”

Dirk snorted. “Not a delicacy. But here in America, everyone eats pizza. It’s very common, and you can have it lots of different ways. Some people don’t like meat, some like to put every topping imaginable on it, go whole hog.”

“I just don’t like these meat circles. They’re spicy,” Kankri admitted.

“Pepperoni. Just take them off,” Dirk suggested. “It won’t offend anyone, I promise.” He’d only been around Kankri for an hour at most but he already knew that one of Kankri’s chief concerns was making sure nobody was offended. He watched as Kankri seemed to relax just another fraction and picked off the pepperoni, stopping short when they all heard a knock at the door.

Bro, who they thought was asleep on the futon -- a word Kankri was sure to learn quickly -- stood to answer the door, and let inside a person in a suit-dress and carrying a black bag. She had a hushed conversation with Bro that Kankri tried not to eavesdrop on, while Cronus pretended to eat happily though just as on edge about the newcomer as Kankri.

“Kankri,” Bro said, moving over to the table. “This is Dr. Lalonde. She’s gonna check you out, make sure everythin’s in order.”

The woman smiled and held out a hand for Kankri to shake. “Welcome to Earth,” she said politely. Kankri shook her hand but didn’t stir. “If you’d show me to your room, I’ll examine you and make sure you’re right as rain!”

“Can I come?” Cronus cut in.

Kankri flushed just a little. “I will be fine, Cronus,” he said quietly and stood. “I’ll call if I need you.”

“Kanny…”

Kankri fixed him with a look and he shut up. Truth be told, he thought as he headed down the hall to the room he and Cronus had settled in, he wanted to get the news about possible pregnancy himself. He didn’t want Cronus there if he didn’t need to be. He pushed open the door and let the doctor in ahead of himself and closed it most of the way.

“Sit on down on the bed, honey. I’m just going to take some vitals.”

“I apologize,” Kankri began as he did as he was told. “I’ve never been visited by the doctor before.”

“Aw, I’m your first?” Lalonde teased. “What an honor.” She made quick work of checking his breathing and blood pressure and all the rest, explaining everything as she went. When she finished, she sat on a little chair across from him that she’d pulled over from the corner. “So tell me, Kankri. Is there a specific test you wanted to run? B-Stri mentioned that you might be carrying a few grubs…?”

Kankri tensed, looked down, and nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I...might be.”

“Well,” she continued, chipper. “I’ve got a troll pregnancy test. How far along might you be?”

“A perigee- or rather, a month? My apologies.”

She waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t worry yourself over a silly slip. You’ve only been on Earth for a bit! But a month is good,” Lalonde explained, “because we should be able to tell the blood color. Troll pregnancies are so much more informational early on. We can’t tell their sex until much later on, but we’ll look at the results and see if we can tell.” She rummaged in her bag and pulled out a little box with a stick in it. “Here, take this in the bathroom, pee on the end, and put this little cap on, and bring it back out and we’ll wait for the results together, okay?”

\-----

Kankri stared at the stick on the cloth that he’d set on the bed between them. Dr. Lalonde looked at her watch. “Just a few more seconds here and we can press the button to read the results.”

“Pardon me, ma’am-”

“Please, call me Mom. Everyone does.”

Kankri knew that was a human relational term, but didn’t question it. “...Mom, how will you tell what blood color they are if there...are any?”

“A set of numbers will pop up and we just look at this handy dandy chart and match the hormone levels up to blood color. A lot of trolls take these tests on their own, so don’t worry. We’ll have it figured out in...3...2...1!”

Dr. Lalonde pressed the little button on the end of the test and the small screen lit up with a smiley face, followed by two numbers. “612...and 311…”

Kankri frowned. “What does that mean?”

Dr. Lalonde smiled, but was scanning her chart. “The smiley face means that, congratulations, you’re pregnant! That’s what we call it on Earth.” Secretly, Kankri’s heart was falling to his stomach at the prospect, but he surely couldn’t just vent his emotions to this poor woman.

“And 612 is matching with...Candy Red, that’s your color!” No surprise there, he thought.

“And 311….” Black, Kankri thought. “311...is….” Black, he thought. He knew it was black.

“311 is violet!”

Kankri’s heart stopped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back, nerds.


	15. Qara

 

Cronus heard a female voice exclaim, “Oh my!” and didn’t hesitate to bolt from his seat, leaving his pizza behind, to the room he saw Kankri and the doctor enter. Slamming the door open, he saw Kankri sprawled on his back, unconscious, and Dr. Lalonde standing over him, fanning him with some weird card.

“What in the hell is goin’ on here?!” Cronus demanded, rushing over to Kankri’s side. “Kanny? What did you do to him?” His voice had slipped into a protective growl, baring his teeth slightly at the human in front of him.  
“He fainted,” the doctor explained, “on his own accord. I didn’t do anything to him, I assure you.”

“Kanny don’t just faint,” Cronus protested.

A hand settled itself on Cronus’ shoulder out of, what seemed like, nowhere. “How’s about you take it down ‘bout ten or twen’y percent there,” Bro said from behind him, the hand gripping him ever so slightly. “Lalonde don’t lie. M’sure somethin’ just shocked’im or he didn’t get enough to eat with all the pukin’ he’s been doin’ and passed out.”  
Dr. Lalonde nodded, trying to use a more calming voice than Bro’s warning tone. “Exactly. We were just going over the results to his pregnancy test.”

Under Bro’s hand, Cronus stiffened. “And?”

Dr. Lalonde gave him a sympathetic look. “I’m afraid I can’t tell you, sweetie. Here on Earth, we have what’s called Doctor-Patient Confidentiality. I can’t disclose medical information without permission.”

Cronus scowled at that. “Kanny would want me to know, ‘specially if he’s knocked himself out over it.”

“I’m sure he would,” she agreed, and pocketed her index card, putting the test itself in an opaque baggie. “But that’s his decision to make, not mine.” She walked over to the unconscious troll and put two fingers on his pulse, staring at her watch to count.

“When’s he gonna wake up, then?”

“Oh, any moment now, I’m sure. He should only be out for a couple of minutes,” Lalonde said, gently laying Kankri’s wrist back down. “How about you stay here with us and join the appointment, hm?” Her smile was gentle, the practiced kind smile of a well-trained physician.

Cronus looked uneasy but sat down next to Kankri on the bed, grabbing his hand. “Like you could get me to leave,” he muttered under his breath, and watched Kankri’s face for any signs of the troll waking.

He wasn’t sure how or when Bro left the room and shut the door, but it wasn’t very long before Kankri started to stir. Cronus squeezed his hand lightly and murmured, “Kanny?”

“Mmn, Cronus?” Kankri asked, puzzled. “What...what happened?” His eyes blinked open and he was looking up at Cronus in confusion, moving to sit up.

“Easy there, Kan,” Cronus chided, helping move Kankri up into a seated position. “You fainted. You tell me.”

The memories of what had happened moments ago came rushing back to Kankri, and his face grew from confused to a form of unease. He looked over at the doctor, who nodded at him to confirm yes, that did happen. He must have fainted in shock.

Kankri swallowed to wet his dry mouth and he looked at Cronus. “I took an Earth test to see if…” he hesitated. “...if I am with grub.”

Cronus looked at him for a moment. After a beat of silence he said bluntly, “An’ I’m guessin’ since you passed out from the results, you are.” He didn’t wait for any response, but turned to the doctor. “What do you do with the black ones here on Earth? We sure as hell ain’t keepin’ it.”

Dr. Lalonde didn’t miss a beat. “What color are you?”

“Violet,” Cronus corrected, confused. “Not black, so…?”

“Cronus,” Kankri tried to get his attention back. “Please do not be so quick to suck measures. You haven’t heard any confirmation or denial and you are therefore jumping to conclusions. You could seriously offend someone if you continue this pattern of conversational action.”

Cronus sighed and shook his head a little. “Sorry Kan. Are you confirmin’ or denyin’?”

“I...well…” Kankri looked a little helplessly at Dr. Lalonde. “Could you please?”

The doctor’s pleasant smile split into a grin. She was barely containing her giddiness at being able to break the news. “Not only are you with grub, but you are having both a red and a violet grub.”

Cronus just stared at her for a second before his own face split into a wide, wide grin. “Red an’ Violet?”

“Red and violet.”

“No black?”

“No black.”

“Kanny…” Cronus turned to his boyfriend with his giant smile. “Kanny, are you carryin’ our grubs?”

Kankri looked at a loss. “I suppose so?” he responded quietly. “Though I’m not entirely sure how that is possible.”

“Ooh!” Dr. Lalonde quickly sifted through her bag. “We have a ‘prepared statement’ for new trolls in your situation, let me see…” She pulled out a little booklet and flipped to a middle page, clearing her throat. “While the black-blooded troll government maintains that troll gravidity may only occur between a colored-blooded troll and a black-blooded troll, this is not a true statement of the process. Chemical compound QARA found in the pigment of black blood is a trigger fertility compound for troll reproductive systems. The material which has spent the longest time in the fertilized troll’s system will determine the secondary blood color. In some cases, this may not be black but rather any other color of blood.” She set the booklet down in her lap. “In other words, boys, if you two were intimate around Kankri here being exposed to black pigment, it’s entirely possible that violet won out over black.”

Kankri stared at her for a moment. Then, he stared at Cronus. So much information was flooding his mind, and he was having trouble pulling individual thoughts from the fray. That magical time they had spent together, connecting in the face of Kankri’s certain doom, had changed everything. He’d consented to that. He wanted to be that close with Cronus. He had simply never imagined that this would come of it. Certainly, when he’d told Cronus all he had learned about human family structures, Cronus had mentioned that it’d be way better to have a family together than with their Master but...that was just a fantasy to them. They had no idea, but perhaps all black bloods knew and kept this a secret? Kankri felt a fire at the back of his mind, a fire of anger at misinformation, but it was being drowned out by his rushing river of thoughts and all he could really do was stare.

Cronus, however, beamed. “Haha, suck it blackblooded assholes! I’m gettin’ a grub! Two grubs!” He laughed a little and squeezed Kankri’s hand. “Ain’t it great, Kanny?”

Kankri tilted his head. “Cronus, you know I was still raped for this chance. You know we’re both young. I...I still have to carry these grubs and we have to raise two children now, on our own, without our family’s help, in an alien world in which neither of us have any money, any jobs, any education, and-”

“Bullshit, Kan,” Cronus cut him off. “Not the rapin’ part, ‘cause that’s serious an’ we’ll have to figure somethin’ out about that, but no education? You read every book there ever is, in more’n one language. You’re the smartest troll there is. I can get a job an’ we’ll figure somethin’ out for your smarts an’ we’ll raise the grubs together, no sweat.”

Kankri paused and deflated a bit. “How is it that in the face of adversity, you can simply...shrug and smile?”

“Don’t know, my pops sure didn’t pass the trait on’ta me,” Cronus joked, hoping to make Kankri smile. He succeeded.

“Awwwwwwww,” Dr. Lalonde cut in. “You two are too cute! I’m sure everything will go just fine. The Striders will get you set up and you’ll be on your feet in no time. And Kankri, don’t you worry about a thing. We can meet next week and I’ll give you a full exam, and I will write a referral for a therapist.”

Medical attention during a pregnancy hadn’t even occurred to Kankri, but he nodded his thanks to Dr. Lalonde. “Thank you. I apologize if I am not the most eloquent right now.”

“Oh, sweetie, I know it’s a lot. And with your condition and the fact that you just fainted, I’m going to have to have you stay in bed for a day or two. Somebody’s got to force you to relax.”

“Tch,” Cronus scoffed. “Kanny knows every word except the word relax.”

“I know what relax means, Cronus!” Kankri protested.

“Too cute!” Dr. Lalonde stood with a smile. “Under the covers with you, Mister, and I’ll leave you two for the time being.” She moved over to pull back the covers for him and with Cronus’ help, however unnecessary Kankri felt that it was, he laid down in the bed, one more comfortable than he’d ever seen, even in the rooms of the blackbloods back on his home planet. “There you go. Get some rest. I’ll see you in a week, okay?”

Kankri nodded, feeling weak and vulnerable and a myriad of other things. “Thank you, ma’am,” he said after her as she slipped out of the room.

Cronus moved over to the other side of the bed and laid down next to Kankri, but on top of the covers instead. He turned on his side and smiled, resting a hand on his boyfriend’s stomach. “So...two grubs of our own, huh?”

“I...yes.” Kankri laid his head back. “How are we going to do this, Cronus?”

“Well…” Cronus scooted closer. “You’ll read all the books about it we can find an’...I’ll get a job at some dock or maybe playin’ music or both, an’ you can get a job teachin’ or somethin’ an’ we’ll put the grubs in school an’ it’ll all be fine.”

“Teaching? Are you aware of how absurd that sounds?”

Cronus shrugged a little. “You taught me a bunch growin’ up. I bet you could teach a bunch of people on Earth about where we came from or anythin’ really since you know so much stuff. An’ you really like to talk.”

“You need a college degree to teach, Cronus. Higher education is not free.”

“Pft, Kanny, you could take any test an’ ace it. That’s the least of our worries.”

Kankri looked over at his overly-confident and optimistic boyfriend with a look of disbelief. “And what exactly is our biggest worry?”

“Somehow gettin’ you to relax for two days.”

\-----

Dr. Lalonde had left. Kankri had managed to fall asleep after much coaxing from Cronus, who was rather enjoying the bathtub and submerging his gills in water for the first time in a month. Bro sat on the couch, staring at the television. Dirk sat down next to him.

“His last name is Vantas,” Dirk stated, not a question in the slightest.

“Yeah,” Bro nodded, not taking his eyes from the screen.

“Bro...that name’s been in the radio waves I’ve intercepted for at least a week, if not more.”

Bro shrugged it off. “S’probably the fact that the troll’s gone missin’. I hear their ‘Master’ was a color-collector.’”

Dirk looked directly at his older brother with a frown. “No, Bro, it’s a different Vantas. It’s not a missing troll ad. Hal’s been researching it, and there aren’t any other Vantases on record except for Kankri and his dad.”

Bro finally looked over at his brother. “So what’re they sayin’ then?”

“All I’ve been able to decode is that there’s some sort of revolution beginning against the black blood and the guy leading it is named Vantas. Signless Vantas.”

“Son of a bitch.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot shorter than normal but it is what it is. Sometimes the natural breaks in stories aren't so convenient for consistent length.


	16. Relaxat accipere facile

“Papa?”

“Yes, Kankri?” A smiling face looked down at him. Worn from labor but still soft and warm and kind, so kind.

“Do you think I’ll be like you when I grow up?”

A chuckle arose from the elder of the two and he was scooped up to sit on his hip as they walked down their little dirt path. “Why do you ask, little one?”

“Well…” Kankri thought hard. “Everybody likes you and you know everything. I wan’ta be like you.”

“Oh, little one. I don’t know everything, and everyone seems to like me because I’m kind to them. All you have to do is remember that everyone else has feelings, too. To get kindness, you have to give it.”

“Will I be like that, then? When I’m big and tall?”

Another chuckle. “If you try your best, you certainly can be.”

“And...and will I be the best papa like you are?”

The carry turned into a hug, firm but gentle, and Kankri hugged back with all his might. “I’m sure you’ll be a wonderful father. Miles more than me.”

\-----

Kankri awoke to the feeling of wet cheeks. His eyes blinked and he was in that room again, this Earth room that he’d been given for the time being. Right. He was on Earth now. He was free. And...in bed. Oh yes, stuck in bed. The doctor had given him orders to do so. He wiped at his cheeks, thinking about his dream as he laid his head back. With a sigh, he realized he wasn’t all that surprised to be having such a dream now. He was gravid, with child, in a family way...and he’d certainly been close to his father all of those years. This month apart was by far the longest they had ever been separated and he had no idea if or when they would reunite. Such thoughts, he realized were not good ones to keep but he couldn’t help but notice the ache in his heart when he thought about just how far away from each other they were.

He took a deep breath and looked around the room. There was no Cronus in sight. He wasn’t sure why that made him so uneasy, but a hand that strayed to his stomach without him realizing made it a bit more clear. Biologically speaking, he was attached to Cronus now, tacking that on to their mental and emotional connections. He wanted to know where Cronus was and his body was a major player in that motivation. Surely getting up and searching the, what did they call it...apartment? Surely searching the apartment couldn’t hurt. After all, it wasn’t too large of a space and the entire point was that he would relax. He could relax once he knew where Cronus was. He decided that, yes, this was actually better for his health than staying put.

With that, he climbed out of the plush bed and peeked into the bathroom. No Cronus. He padded out and looked out into the hallway. No direct sighting of Cronus, although there was some music playing from the front room...Kankri crept along the hallway quietly, not wanting to disturb anyone, and as luck would have it, there was Cronus, sitting on the futon with Dirk.

“Shit, an’ people don’t dress like that anymore? It looks awesome!” Cronus exclaimed, face filled with glee as he watched the screen.

Dirk shook his head. “Some of the hairstyles are making a comeback but no, people don’t dress like that anymore.”

“They should,” Cronus stated as though it were fact.

Kankri piped up from his spot still somewhat in the hallway, “What are you watching?”

Cronus looked up and worry flickered across his features. “Kan, what are you doin’ outta bed? You’re supposed’ta be restin’.”

“Well, I woke up and you weren’t around. I’m not taxing myself. What are you watching?” He moved to join them on the futon, looking up at the screen where several humans were dancing and singing.

Cronus still looked worried but looked over to Dirk. “A classic human movie. What’s it called again?”

“Grease.”

“Yeah, yeah, Grease. It’s about this super cool human dude who falls in love with this goody-goody human chick,” Cronus smiled and gently elbowed Kankri. “Sound familiar?”

Kankri narrowed his eyes at his boyfriend. “I’m not a female so no, it does not sound familiar.”

“Aw, Kan, come on, it was just a joke. Look at how cool that guy is, an’ he kinda looks like me!”

Kankri watched the screen for a moment, relaxing back into the odd couch. He could see the resemblance, and he had to admit, the outfits of the gentlemen were fetching. “He does rather look like you…”

“See, toldja, Dirk,” Cronus boasted, sitting back and slinging an arm over Kankri’s shoulder. “When we get to go get clothes, I’m gonna get some that look like his.”

“It won’t be for a couple of days, until Kankri’s cleared to leave the apartment,” Dirk explained.

A voice came over the speakers as Kankri was about to protest, and he recognized it as the robotic voice that had aided in landing the space ship. What did they call it...Hal? “Dave is awake, Dirk.”

“Thanks, Hal,” Dirk responded, and the movie sound resumed as he stood up. “Be right back.”

“I ain’t pausin’ it,” Cronus called after him, turning his attention back to the movie. “You wanna lay down here, Kan?”

“I believe sitting is fine, thank you very much,” Kankri insisted, rather pleased to watch Cronus enjoy the human movie rather than think about his own problems. He was nodding along to the songs, and his smile was permanent. It made him feel better about ripping Cronus away from his family to come to Earth with him. Cronus had always been terribly interested in human culture when Kankri would relay what he’d learned, and perhaps this was something he’d dreamed about all along.

Moments later, Dirk was sitting back down on the futon only this time, with a small human in his arms. “Dave, meet Kankri and Cronus. Guys, this is my little brother Dave.”

Kankri looked at the small human, the baby as he’d heard the term used. He hadn’t even noticed that there was a baby here the day before. “He’s very quiet,” Kankri commented. He didn’t think he’d seen anything so small in his life.

“Quiet and clingy. Born just last week, too, so normally they’re louder than loud. Bro thinks it’s because he’s a Strider, but I’m entertaining the possibility that he’s a selective mute,” Dirk explained.

“Last week?” Kankri asked. That was so soon.

“Yep. He’s kind of small for a Strider, too.” The baby looked up at Dirk and grabbed at his glasses. “No, little man, those are all kinds of sharp.” Dirk leaned his head away.

“Can I hold him?” The sentence came from Kankri’s mouth before he even thought the words, and surprised him.

“Sure,” Dirk shrugged, standing back up to bring Kankri the baby. “Hold your arms like mine are and I’ll set him down. Watch the claws.” Kankri did as he was told, holding his arms to cradle the small child. 

When he was settled in his arms and Dirk was back in his seat, Kankri took in a small gasp. “His eyes, they’re-”

“Red, yeah. He’s albino. So is my oldest brother, D. He’ll need shades of his own someday. Strider eyes are really sensitive to light. He’d have them now but babies don’t keep shades on so well.”

“Oh my,” Kankri muttered. Looking down at the child in his arms, he was enthralled. It was...how could something so small feel so important and perfect? “Hello Dave, my name is Kankri.” Dave only gurgled in response, making Kankri smile. “Oh, Cronus, look at him. He’s precious.”

Cronus broke away from the screen finally to see his boyfriend, holding a child like a natural with a light smile on his face. It make his heart swell and he couldn’t wait to see Kankri holding their own children like that. “Yeah. Precious,” he responded with a smile of his own.

“Wanna feed him?” Dirk asked, standing once more and stretching. “He’s probably hungry.”

Kankri looked up. “I don’t mind if you’d like me to. You’ll have to show me how, of course.”

“Not a problem,” Dirk answered, moving over to the kitchen area and starting to fix a bottle. “It’s easy. Not as easy as feeding baby trolls, but still not too bad.”

“You seem very knowledgeable about this subject,” Kankri noted. “Do you take care of your younger brother often? Where are his parents?”

Dirk hesitated a minute as he scooped formula into a bottle but continued on. “That’s kind of a convoluted story.”

Now, Kankri was intrigued, and Cronus could tell that the troll would have to know. So instead of letting Kankri pry in his own way, Cronus piped up, “We’d love to hear it, but no pressure, eh?”

Dirk started to fill the bottle with water. “Hal, you tell it,” he commanded, screwing the top on and shaking it up.

The robotic voice stopped the movie once more and said, “Rather simply, Broderick Strider is Dave Strider’s father, and Dane Strider is Dirk’s father, though the entire line calls themselves brothers. Dr. Roxanne Lalonde MD is Dave’s mother and Dr. Roseanne Lalonde PhD is Dirk’s mother. Dirk has a twin sister named Roxy and Dave has a twin sister named Rose, though their relationships with their mothers are mother-daughter relationships. Both families have chosen to remain separate but involved.”

Cronus furrowed his brows and stared at Dirk. “What?”

Dirk simplified it as he brought the bottle over. “My family’s a tangled mess but we deal. Here,” he stated, and showed Kankri how to feed Dave. 

Kankri didn’t pick at it. Technically, he had another parent as well who had ‘bred’ him in front of his several half-siblings by human terms. The family structure they worked with was the right one for them, so he had no right to pick at the Strider-Lalonde family. “It’s nice that Dave has you to take care of him. You seem like an upright person, Dirk.”

Dirk sat back down and nodded once. “Thanks, Kankri. You’re not too bad yourself.”

\-----

After another day of lounging and a fair bit of playing with Dave on Kankri’s part, he was cleared to move around, which meant they could finally get set up with some clothing and start the process of settling through the agency. Dirk had offered to take Cronus out in the meantime, but he was insistent on not leaving Kankri behind. 

So, with Bro as their guide, Cronus and Kankri left the apartment for the first time and entered the world of Houston, Texas. Cronus was staring out the window of Bro’s truck as they drove through the city, while Kankri was content to look around from his spot in the middle seat. They pulled up in front of a nondescript building and parked, climbing out of the truck.

“This here’s the agency. Not a whole lot of us but it don’t take much to get trolls settled here on Earth. Not like y’all are helpless babies or somethin’,” Bro explained as they walked into the building. Sitting at the front desk was a girl who looked so much like Dr. Lalonde, Kankri and Cronus almost did a double take. “Mornin’, Roxy.”

The girl looked up and smiled, her pink-lipstick shining in the fluorescent light. “Dirky told me you were coming!” She stood quickly and moved around the desk, hugging Cronus and Kankri without a thought. “I’m Roxy! It’s super nice to meet you! So which one is Kan and which one is Cro- not that DiStri called you that, I just think your names are super cute and troll names are so easy to abbreviate and- oops, is that racist? Sorry, I’m suuuuuper hungover.”

Kankri recognized the name after a moment. Dirk’s twin sister. They did look alike. But she was far more bubbly than any Strider he’d met. That being said, Dr. Lalonde seemed like this just under the surface. How very interesting, he thought. “My name is Kankri Vantas, Ms. Lalonde,” he offered, still taken aback by the hug. “And this is my boyfriend, Cronus Ampora.”

“Aw, you snagged a real hottie there, Kankri,” Roxy laughed, and Cronus smiled proudly. Hell yes he was hot. He was hot as hell.

“Take it back a notch there, Lil’ Rox,” Bro cautioned her. He turned to the trolls. “Roxy is our digital mastermind. She can hack into anythin’ in the known universes. She just likes to play receptionist so’s she can harass the new people.”

Roxy giggled. “Ooh, guilty!” She scurried back behind the desk. “I ran all the info you gave me through the system, so we just need to run some aptitude tests and see where we can get some uneducated jobs, I’ve got night school lined up on the schedule here for a basic education, and-”

Cronus cut her off. “Give Kanny the hardest test you got. One for one of those colleges or whatever. He don’t need basic education.”

“Cronus, don’t be so rude,” Kankri huffed.

“What? It’s true,” Cronus grumbled.

Bro added in, “Actually, wit’how he talked my ears off on the way here, yeah, I don’t doubt the kid’s got the brains for it. Can’ya schedule a review with the honorary degrees board? The ones what question ya in a room for three hours an’ if you pass you walk out with a degree er whatever?”

Roxy was already typing away at the computer. “Can do, B-Stri!”

“That exists?” Kankri asked in awe.

“The bastards don’t advertise it or nothin’,” Bro shrugged, “But it ain’t fair t’make refugees sit through shit ‘cause they didn’t get the opportunity to do it earlier. You,” he turned to Cronus, “are takin’ the night classes though if’n you want an education. It’ll take you up through high school.”

Cronus waved his hand. “I ain’t near as smart as Kanny. Makes sense.”

“Done!” Roxy exclaimed. “Two weeks from now, he’s booked in.”

“My apologies but, two weeks? That hardly seems like enough time to prepare for such a thing,” Kankri pointed out.

Roxy waved her hand. “DiStri can help you study, he’s the smartest guy I know, probably in the whole world. And Hal, too.”

Bro looked at her. “Where you placin’ ‘em? Gotta have their own place here soon, can’t stay with us forever.”

Roxy rolled her eyes, but pulled out a binder. “I put together all the available options yesterday, they just have to pick. I’ll get the initial allowance sorted while you choose.”

Kankri stepped up to the counter where the binder sat open and carefully flipped through the pages. He could feel Cronus just behind him, looking as well. There were ten different places here, and he knew Cronus could barely read so he relayed the information to him as he looked himself. The first three were little houses far out of the city, but they were larger with more land. Still, the thought of living anywhere like he had at home made him uneasy. He appreciated the city they were in for that much. The next few were a little closer in, but only the last two were in the city. One was an apartment in a building across from a superstore of sorts, and the other was a flat over a bakery in a calmer, but still bustling, area of the city.

Cronus looked at it as Kankri seemed to hesitate on flipping away from that option. “Seems like you like that one, Kan, so why not say it?”

“I don’t want to be selfish and pick a place you do not enjoy, Cronus,” Kankri explained, scanning the page.

“I don’t give a shit where-”

“Language!”

Cronus rolled his eyes. “Kan, I don’t care where we’re livin’. We’re free. Anywhere’s better than where we came from. Just pick one.”

“Well, I do like this one…”

Cronus handed the binder over to Roxy, open to the right page. “That one, please. We’ll start payin’ rent when I get me a job.”

Roxy nodded at it and started typing away in the computer. “That’s a really good choice, my best friend owns that bakery with her dad and it’s super good! You’ll have to watch out, they’ll try to stuff you full of treats if you’re not careful!”

Kankri relaxed a little. It sounded nice, all of this, and it was still amazing him how kind everyone was being, how easy it was fitting together for him. He tried to ignore the thought that it was probably not going so easy for his father back home.

\-----

It was an hour later after they took a few basic tests, Cronus having to have his read to him, on their interests and skills, when they emerged from the agency with some money in their pockets to spend on clothes. They couldn’t move into their new place for another few days and Cronus’ job wouldn’t start until after, so for now they could relax, buy a few clothes, and Kankri could focus on studying.

True to his word, Cronus picked out clothes that made him look like the greasers from the movie they’d watched not long ago. Kankri stuck to rather plain and comfortable clothing. Very wary that his clothes wouldn’t fit for too long, he bought very little and gave the rest to Cronus to keep for now, until he needed bigger clothes.

Bro took them back home and though it was barely time for lunch, Kankri felt strangely exhausted. Cronus insisted he go lay down and rest, and while lunch was being made -- by Dirk, because if Bro was cooking, it would have ended in disaster and then takeout -- Cronus sat with him.

“It’s excitin’, Kan, all of it. Y’know?” Cronus murmured, pulling his boyfriend close over the covers.

Kankri closed his eyes, enjoying the closeness. “I suppose I haven’t allowed myself to feel excited. I’m so worried. About everything.”

Cronus kissed Kanri between the horns and rested his head back. “Worry one hour a day, then the rest’a the time, let yourself relax. If it’s your dad you’re worried about, he would want you to enjoy it. He told’ya to live, didn’t he? Don’t take all he did in vain. Enjoy this shit,” he explained, and Kankri didn’t correct his language. He continued, “An’ if it’s the grubs you’re worried about, just know I ain’t too happy about the circumstances neither but I’m excited to be a dad with you, y’know? Watchin’ you with Davey was real sweet.”

Kankri smiled a little. “Dave is a very sweet child. And...oh, do I hate to admit it, but you’re right, I should-”

“Whoa whoa whoa, call the intergalactic news, Kankri Vantas just said I’m right!”

Kankri shoved Cronus a little and smiled wider at his boyfriend’s joke, and Cronus was grinning that grin that made his tension melt away when he saw it. “Oh stop it, you. I will try to relax more and enjoy it. Stop teasing me.”

“Never.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, writing truly clears the head. I'm loving your comments, so please keep 'em coming! Hearing your thoughts is great!


	17. Bene

Signless lifted his hood over his head, carefully settling it around his horns and blocking the rain from soaking him through. Like it or not, he had to keep moving. These were the times he could sneak through the countryside undetected, when nobody wanted to brave the weather. It had been 38 days since he’d sent his son to a better life, and now he was free to go about on his own mission, knowing that if he failed, Kankri would not be harmed. He was safe.

He only had a few more miles to travel now, and he would be at another plantation, ready to preach equality to any who would listen.

\-----

Kankri followed Cronus up the stairs in the back of the old brick building. The humid air around them smelled sweet, and it was no surprise. The bakery below them was constantly churning out sweets at a rate he could not comprehend. They had only been here to visit once and had been sent home with a bag full of treats from a lovely human woman, just their age, named Jane, while her father looked on in approval, puffing out fake smoke from some type of pipe.

Now, however, they were moving into their apartment and Kankri could not be more annoyed that Cronus wouldn’t let him carry anything. “Really, we don’t own much, Cronus,” he insisted, as they reached the top of the stairs. “I could carry something.”

“No chance, Kanny,” Cronus retorted, settling his box on his hip as he pulled out the key they’d been given by Roxy that morning. “We don’t own much so it won’t take me long. Agency already had a bed put in an’ shit so-”

“Cronus! Language!”

Cronus rolled his eyes and kicked open the door. “Just wait here a sec, okay?”

Kankri crossed his arms and raised a brow. “Why?” he huffed, as his boyfriend didn’t answer and instead carried the box inside and set it down before coming back out. Before he knew what was happening, he was being lifted in the seadweller’s strong arms. “Cronus!” Kankri shrieked, “Put me down at once!”   


“I’m carryin’ you across the threshold, babe,” Cronus laughed, carrying his boyfriend into the apartment. “It’s a human tradition.”

“It is triggering to lift a person without warning or without permission!”

“Relax, Kan. I gotcha. S’posed to be romantic…”

Kankri sighed and looked into their new home. It was bigger than three of the slave houses combined, and he had to admit, being in Cronus’ arms while he was introduced to the new situation did calm him… He decided not to chide his boyfriend any further.

“Well? Whatcha think, Kanny?”

“I think…” What did he think? He was grateful, certainly. Most definitely out of his element. He had never dreamed of anything like this, and absolutely never dreamed he would be on a different planet, living a life of his own. It was overwhelming and although he never really was a cryer, he found himself tearing up. “I suppose I think a lot of things, Cronus,” he finally answered after a long silence. After all, his body was producing more hormones now, and he knew this logically must be why he was externally emoting in such a manner.   


“Want me to help you sort ‘em out?” Cronus offered, settling them down on the donated couch.

Kankri shook his head. “It’s simply the vapors, Cronus. I’m happy, really, to be here with you. It is simply still a lot to process.”

“No kiddin’,” Cronus agreed with a sigh. “But hey, once I bring up the other three boxes, we can have a feelin’s jam. Dirk ain’t comin’ to pick his truck back up for another couple hours.”

Kankri smiled a little and took Cronus’ hand, careful of their claws, and squeezed it lightly. “I would like that very much, thank you. Please let me help with the boxes?”

“Nope!” Cronus shot up off the couch. “Not happenin’ Kan! You rest, let our grubs get used to the new place. I’ll be back in a bit!”

\-----

Kankri was folding their clothes and putting them in their dresser while Cronus hung the curtains on all of the flat’s windows. The place was essentially one large room, aside from the bathroom right off the entry door, and was thus quite empty with just the two of them. He listened to the light singing of his boyfriend and tried to imagine more life in the room. Perhaps a friend or two visiting, or a grub skittering around, playing with its clutchmate...the thought made him smile a bit and put his hand on his stomach. That would actually be quite cute, he thought.

Cronus looked over as he hung the last curtain and smiled. He loved these little moments recently where he’d catch Kanny with his hand on his stomach, deep in thought. It was always cute when he was thinking, but it was even cuter to see him slipping into parent-mode. He himself was already asking Dirk and Roxy a ton about kids, since apparently Roxy had a little sister named Rose that was Davey’s twin and she and Dirk had different styles about dealing with the kiddos. He didn’t think Kankri would be like either of them. All he knew was that Mr. Vantas was a damn stand-up troll and his own dad was a pretty good guy, too, when he wasn’t drunk or with that spiderbitch. He didn’t think that either of them would be like their parents but, hey, they wouldn’t be bad either. They would be fucking awesome.

He couldn’t resist walking over and hugging Kankri from behind, hands on his boyfriend’s stomach and chin resting on his shoulder. “Whatcha thinkin’ about, Kan?”

“Mmm…?” Cronus loved that noise, the one of Kankri being pulled out of a thought as though he was being woken up. “Oh, I’m just wondering what it will be like in here when there are grubs skittering around. I assume it will be much more...lively.”   


Cronus chuckled. “Yeah, probably. Might be loud, too. You were a loud grub, I remember.”

“I was not!” Kankri huffed. “There’s no way you could possibly remember that, even if it were true.”

“But I do, Kanny. It’s one’a my earliest memories. You just before you pupated, you wouldn’t shut up. Lots of squawks an’ trills. You always had somethin’ to say before you could say anythin’.” Cronus kissed his cheek. “Not a bad thing, babe. An’ I wouldn’t be surprised if both of our grubs are loudmouths.”

“I’m sure they will be wonderful and well-behaved,” Kankri stated. “I was a very well-behaved child.”

“More like a goody-goody-two-shoes.”

Kankri glared over his shoulder at Cronus. “Did you stop working to harass me?”

“No, I finished, an’ came over to check on my little family.”

“Well your  _ little family _ is fine, so get back to work before Dirk gets here. He’s lending me Hal’s attention to study while you two…”

“Jam, Kan. He said he’d find me a guitar hookup and we’d work on some music together.”

“Right. ‘Jam.’ After you help put things away.”

Cronus rolled his eyes. “Regular slavedriver here, Kan,” he joked, but went on his way, always keeping an eye to make sure his boyfriend wasn’t overexerting himself.

\-----

The knock at their door startled Kankri from his reading and Cronus from where he was tuning the crappy guitar they’d found at a street sale. Kankri was happy that his boyfriend had found one, as he had to admit one of his favorite things back home was sitting on the dock and listening to Cronus play songs he’d learned from whatever Mituna could hack and download for him.

Kankri stood. “I’ll get that. It’s most likely Dirk, or perhaps Jane with more treats of hers…”

It was not Dirk or Jane. Rather it was Dirk and Jane. And...a slew of others. He took in a breath in surprise, which sounded a bit like a squeaky gasp. Cronus was at his side in a heartbeat.

“Somethin’ wrong, Ka-” Cronus’ worried look split into a grin. “Aw, shit, what is this?”

Roxy burst through the small crowd to hug the trolls. “It’s a Welcome Party! Surpriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiise!”

Dirk shook his head. “I told her not to. I swear.”

“Shhhhhhh, Dirky!” Roxy said, pulling out of the hug. “Be a good boy and bring the party supplies in.”

“Oh goodness, my apologies!” a shocked Kankri pronounced. “Do come in, how rude of me, I’m terribly sorry.” He stepped out of the way, holding the door open. “I apologize for our mess, we really didn’t expect to have people over, as it -”

Cronus rolled his eyes as others came in and pulled Kankri off to the side. “Hey, Kan, how about you relax, okay? The place ain’t a mess an’ they’re tryin’ to do somethin’ nice for us, yeah?”

“I am relaxed, Cronus, I assure you.”

“Yeah? Then prove it by not doin’ anythin’ unless they ask you to. Enjoy a sudden party. It’s an Earth thing. Think of it as trainin’ and relax.” Kankri hadn’t quite noticed it, but he was being ushered to a chair and now here he was, being sat down in it by his boyfriend.

“You know, Cronus, you never mothered me this much back home,” he pointed out with suspicious eyes.

“Yeah, well, I’m free now to protect you an’ I made a promise to your pops about it. Plus, I’m gonna be a dad. It’s my instincts to keep you all safe, you dig? So just enjoy that I’m pampering you, sit down, and enjoy the party. Stop resistin’.”

Kankri huffed, but after a moment he nodded. “Fine.” He looked over at the kitchen where Roxy and Jane were hard at work, setting out drinks and food, while others set balloons about the apartment. There weren’t many people, just the Striders, Lalondes, Egberts, and...another family that he didn’t recognize. Still, they were all gathered here and he felt a pang in his chest. Everyone had come to welcome them. Did they deserve this?

Dirk came over and nodded at the two of them. “Not to interrupt or anything, but Cronus, you want to help me set up music?”

Cronus lit up and Kankri’s heart swelled even more at the sight. “Hell yeah I do.” And he was off, leaving Kankri to his own. He watched as Dirk set up his DJ equipment, and Cronus plugged in his guitar to play along.

“You loooooooooooooove him.” The voice startled Kankri, and he looked over to see Roxy, drink in hand, sitting on the couch nearby.

“Roxy, you startled me,” he said, hand on his heart. “I...well yes, I do. I love Cronus very much.”

“If you love him so much, why doncha marry him?” the girl giggled.

Kankri flushed, and was glad when Jane came to his aid and sat down next to her. “Roxy! You can’t just tell him to marry someone. How many trolls do you know who get married?”

“Nothing wrong with being the first, Janey!” Roxy insisted. “Besides, they’re gonna have baaaaaaaaabies. Crofins could make an honest man outta him!”

Kankri cleared his throat, and both girls looked at him. “While Cronus and I both have a soft spot for human culture, this is something we have never discussed and...we do have other things to focus on. Work, education...feeding our family.”

Roxy pointed at him slyly. “It’s not outta the question though? Once you feel secure…?”

“I would...I would consider it, yes,” Kankri agreed. “Cronus and I...well, I feel we belong together.” Jane’s hand covered her heart while Roxy squealed in excitement while Kankri’s face darkened.

“Girls, gee whiz!” a voice Kankri didn’t recognize cut through their conversation. “What are you harrassing this poor innocent troll over this time?” A tall, built human stood before them, dark hair and bright green eyes behind rectangular glasses. He offered a strong hand to Kankri for a shake. “Jake English, chap. At your service, to protect you from these ruffians in the least.”

Kankri took his hand and shook it, careful with his claws. “Kankri Vantas. Welcome to my home, Mr. English.”

“Oh, pah!” Jake scoffed, sitting down in another chair. “Nobody calls me that. We must be around the same age, I wager. I’m Jane’s cousin, same age as her and Roxy and Dirk, my ‘bro’ as he calls us.” Roxy gave Jane a look that Kankri didn’t understand and Jane rolled her eyes. “They said a new couple trolls were just getting settled and I was on the mainland for a visit, so I hope you don’t mind us crashing the party?”

As they spoke, the three friends chatting while Kankri listened in, he watched a thick blanket be laid down on the floor by Mr. Egbert and not only was Dave deposited there, but three other very small babies. Interesting, he thought, but he didn’t say anything about it. He simply sat back, made conversation, and did his best to enjoy the party. Maybe, one day, his wrigglers would join these ones and they could have friends. The thought of friends, remembering all of those he had left behind, made his smile fade a bit. He hoped beyond hope that they were okay.

\-----

It had been over two months since they moved into their apartment, and Kankri cursed that they still hadn’t bought a spare can opener. Theirs just kept getting lost! He huffed, searching through the drawers once again for the contraption. Cronus would be home soon from his day job at the aquarium, and Kankri wanted to have dinner ready. After all, he’d gotten the mail earlier in the day to find a letter addressed to him from the adjudicators’ board, and the thing was sitting on the table, taunting him. Would he have a degree? Would he be able to teach? Would anything come from this?

A tiny kick in his stomach stopped his train of thought and he placed a hand on it. Was that...surely it was early to feel that, was it not? He was only four per-er, months along. He still had six to go. This seemed odd, but then again, there was another kick at an entirely different spot. Oh my. They didn’t hurt, but it was an odd sort of pressure that he had never experienced and it made him sit down, pulling up his shirt to stare at his belly. A third kick came from the same spot as the first and a tiny little bump showed up and disappeared. It was so...unsettling looking.

The door started to open and Kankri quickly put down his shirt, looking up as Cronus walked through the door. He looked disheveled. His job wasn’t glamorous, after all. Since he had gills, he was tasked with cleaning the tanks and, well, it wasn’t easy. Still, he walked through the door and his face lit up in a smile as he saw Kankri at their kitchen table. “Honey, I’m home!” he said, mocking the old television he liked to watch so much.

Kankri rolled his eyes and stood. “I can see that. How was your day?” He walked over to kiss Cronus on the cheek.

“Actually not too bad, but those jellyfish sure know how to dirty up a tank,” the seadweller shook his head. “No big, though. I’m gonna record some samples for Dirk tonight. That’s good work.” He walked with Kankri back to the kitchen. “What’s for dinner?”

“Well, it would be that grilled-cheese and soup dish but I can’t find the can opener…Cronus?”

Cronus was looking down at the table, the envelope sitting on it. “What’s this, Kan?”

“It’s...from the adjudicators.”

“‘Bout your degree?”

“Perhaps. I haven’t opened it,” Kankri admitted. “I was waiting for you.”

“Well shit, Kan, you didn’t have to wait for me.” Cronus picked up the envelope and held it out. “Open it!”

Kankri narrowed his eyes but took the letter. “Language.”

Cronus sighed. “Open it, Kan.”

Kankri did just that, a razor-sharp claw sliding the folded paper open with ease. He pulled the letter out, and without thinking, read it out loud. “Dear Mr. Vantas, We are pleased to inform you that the board has come to a favorable decision.” His reading slowed as his eyes widened. “Based on your superior knowledge, we would like to award you a degree to the Master’s level in Humanities, - oh my word!”

Cronus beamed at him and laughed heartily, crossing the kitchen to scoop him into a hug. “That’s my Kanny! Congratulations!”

Kankri was smiling and laughing with him, hugging him tight despite the bump between them. “Oh, Cronus, do you know what this means?! I can be a professor! I can...oh my!”

Cronus pulled back and kissed his boyfriend hard. “I knew you could do it, Kan. Fuck, I’m so proud’a you.” Kankri didn’t even correct his language. He was on cloud nine. He couldn’t believe it.

Things were going to be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments keep me going, guys!


	18. Sicut in Principio

Mituna Captor tapped his foot anxiously as he steered the ship through the galaxy. Whose ship? His master’s. He sure as hell didn’t have his own ship and he’d be damned if he’d be caught for stealing this one. But one look over at Latula, as gravid as the days are long, and he knew that he had made the right choice. 

By his estimation, they only had another week to go, maybe a week and a half if they were pursued and he had to take an alternate route. After being crammed on this ship with 9 other gravid trolls, fuck, that week couldn’t go by fast enough.

\-----

Kankri looked down at the stack of papers in front of him, resting on his belly. It was a good shelf, he reasoned, but good gog, Texas was hot. If he took the papers off, he’d be cooler, but then his back would ache from having to bend over them to grade them and he would be right back where he started.

Here he found himself, ten months along into his pregnancy, nine months into living on Earth, and he was already well into the swing of things. He’d been a basic-courses professor for a few months and it was the end of the semester now, meaning he had lots of papers to grade. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be putting too many failing grades out there; that would mean his teaching was not effective. 

At any rate, he was not sure how he had the energy to grade these with the two grubs inside him having what seemed like a dance party. Or...what was it that they had sometimes at the front of human concerts? A mosh pit. Could two grubs be enough to create a mosh pit? After the several kicks to his kidneys he decided, yes, there was a mosh pit in his stomach.

His face must have contorted into discomfort because Cronus was looking up from his guitar, where he had been working on a new tune for his next gig with Dirk at the open mic night. “Everything alright, babe?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. The grubs are just...they must be dancing to your music,” Kankri answered with a sigh, shifting in his reclined position on the couch.

“Aw, really? That’s awful sweet,” Cronus spoke to Kankri’s stomach. “But maybe don’t put your pops through so much pain, eh? I’ll play you a special song if you stop…”

Much to Kankri’s surprise, the mosh pit inside of him slowed and he found himself able to breathe much better. “You ought to make good on your promise,” he warned, gently rubbing his hand down his stomach to try to soothe the grubs. “They have been badgering me nonstop.”

Cronus fussed with one of the tuning pegs and smiled wider, shaking his head. “Naw, Kanny, I’ve been working on a soft song just for them. I mean, I didn’t write it or nothin’, but I figured I should learn to play some, y’know?” He played a few experimental chords until he found his footing, and then he began lowly. “Edelweiss, Edelweiss, every morning you greet me. Small and white, clean and bright, you look happy to see me.”

Kankri set his stack of papers aside and smiled. The dancing inside him slowed. Of course Cronus was calming them. Cronus playing always calmed him as well, and he found himself tilting his head to the side to rest on the back of the couch, breathing deeply as he listened.

“Blossom of snow may you bloom and grow, bloom and grow forever.”

It felt so nice and cozy, in their little apartment in the big city, just the two of them, comforting their someday-children with music. A little smile settled on Kankri’s face and a hand idly pet his protruding stomach.

“Edelweiss, edelweiss, bless my homeland forever...Edelweiss, Edelweiss, every morning you greet me,” he began again. And this time, Kankri decided to try and sing along.

“Small and white, clean and bright.” The smile on Cronus’ face was huge, as it always was when he got his boyfriend to sing along.

“You look ha-OH!” Kankri’s singing was stopped mid-word as a big tensing of muscles happened in his abdomen.

“Kanny?! Kanny, what’s wrong?” Cronus’ guitar was on the floor and he was at his boyfriend’s side, taking his hand and squeezing it gently.

The tension wasn’t passing, and Kankri’s face screwed up with focus. “It’s...it hurts, Cronus, in my core-ahhhhh,” he groaned.

Cronus’ face fell even further. “But that’s early...fuck, I’m callin’ Lalonde.” He scrambled in his pocket for his phone, but Kankri squeezed his other hand tightly.

“It’s not happening early, Cronus, it can’t happen early, it doesn’t happen with trolls.”

Cronus looked up and tried to make his face calm, his earfins betraying him with their stance of alarm. “Kanny, doncha remember the stories? You were early. Two peri- months early.” He was already calling her, phone pressed up to his ear. “Could be nothin’, but we gotta make sure, Kan.”

\-----

Cronus had picked him up and moved him to the bed once the pain went away for a time. It was another ten or so minutes before it returned, just as strong as the first time. Kankri absolutely did not want to think about this right now. He had a job to do, and this was getting in the way. He had  _ two months _ left. He knew it.

When Dr. Lalonde rushed in, Kankri knew the woman would prove him wrong. She didn’t look alarmed ever, except now. Still, she talked to him calmly.

“Tell me what happened, sweetie?” she said, pulling back the sheets. She’d had to go down there before at some of their checkups, but it never failed to make him uncomfortable. “Cronus, help him out of these leggings, please.”

Kankri frowned. “I was just grading and relaxing and I had an intense cramp. Cronus is overreacting,” he tried.

“Mm...well perhaps he is, but we’d better be sure about that, don’t you think?” she said, laying a privacy paper overtop Kankri’s now bare legs as she settled them in the correct position, ducking down to do her work. She made little hums, none of which did anything to assuage his fears, and when she pulled back a minute or so later, she pulled off her gloves. “I think we had better get you to a hospital. Those grubs are a’comin,” she said with a pink-lipped smile, which did nothing to stop Kankri’s heart from falling dangerously fast. “Tonight.”

\-----

Cronus held Kankri’s hand as a disgustingly large needle was inserted into his back. It made Cronus want to hurl but the last thing he wanted was for Kankri to be unnecessarily scared or upset. This was hard enough. By the time the needle was pulled out and Kankri was allowed to lay back down, his own nausea had passed and he stood up to kiss his boyfriend on the head. “You’ve been doin’ so great, Kanny. So great.”

Kankri glared up at him. “I hate this. Every single bit of it. And it’s your fault. If we hadn’t...copulated, I could have let that slurry out and probably not had a single grub.”

Cronus squeezed his hand. “You’re just sayin’ that because you’ve got meds coursin’ through ya and a lot of pain right now, but it’s gonna go away an’ you’ll remember why we did all this, yeah?”

“Or I will hate you forever.”

Cronus sighed. “Fair enough.”

\-----

“Hey, uh, Tuna?”

Mituna didn’t turn around to look at Rufioh. Earth had just come into view and he needed to focus, find a place to land. Signless said something about a place called Texas, but that was all he knew. “Not now, Rufioh. We’re almost there.”

Rufioh rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, I know. That’s the problem.”

“How the fuck could that be a problem?” he huffed.

“We’re out of fuel.”

Mituna’s heart stopped. He turned to look at Rufioh. “What?”

“Master didn’t refuel the thing before we stole it and I thought we were gonna have enough, but then we had to skirt around those slave-catchers and it used up more than we could afford.”

“You’re telling me-”

“We’re gonna be stranded,” Rufioh cut him off. “We’ve got enough to get us just past the Earth moon but after that, the catchers are gonna catch up.”

Mituna took a deep breath, narrowed his eyes, and turned back to face the front of the ship. “Not if I have anything to say about it.”

\-----

“He’s dilating perfectly, Mr. Ampora,” the troll nurse who came in to check every once in a while stated. “A textbook case.”

“But...it’s early?” Cronus frowned, looking to Kankri who had taken a small nap, getting all the rest he could.

“Well, if it were a month earlier, we’d have a problem, but this isn’t a dangerous amount of early. It’s within the normal range,” the troll explained, taking his gloves off and depositing them in the trash. Cronus visibly relaxed. “Anyway, we’ll come back in a half hour, and he should be ready to push. You might want to wake him up so he’s ready.”

“Right. Uh, thanks,” Cronus dismissed the nurse, and went to Kankri’s side. He took his boyfriend’s hand in his and squeezed gently. “Hey, Kanny? Kan...it’s time to wake up. You’re gonna push here soon. Gotta wake up.”

Kankri stirred and frowned, slowly opening his eyes to look at Cronus. “Mmmmn, Cronus?”

“Yeah babe?” Cronus sat on the bed beside him.

“I’m never having grubs again, okay?”

Cronus chuckled. “No worries, I think two is plenty for us. If we had more, I’d carry for us.”

“No,” Kankri wiped some of the sleep from his eyes. “No more grubs.”

“Alright, no more, I promise.”

\-----

Mituna pulled down the last of the wires to attach himself to the ship. Everyone else was back in the rooms like he’d told Rufioh to gather them, and hanging on. This wasn’t going to be easy.

His arms strung up above him, legs firmly in place, he set his eyes on Earth. He sent a mental signal to the computer of the ship, telling it to broadcast to any signals in this ‘Texas’ an SOS, and set a course for there. Now, he waited.

The fuel gauge dipped once, twice, and fell to the bottom of the dial, and Mituna took a deep breath.

One.

Two.

_ Three _ .

He summoned all of his psionic power and the ship shot forward, faster than they’d traveled through the entire journey, even when being chased.

Pain shot through his body as he felt all of his power rush into the ship. His chest stretched up and forward, as if the position itself could moved them more forward, closer to Earth. His vision was red and blue sparks, and his eyes crackled with sparks of their own as he started to scream. 

Almost...almost there, he could feel it...all of the answers were within him, he was one with the ship.

Almost there…

His shout rose to a volume he wasn’t sure was possible and he pressed his body and the ship forward until he could feel a pop and a change of pressure and they had made it through the atmosphere, plummeting to Earth as his power gave out and his body slumped, vision blurring red, blue, and then…

Black.

\-----

A massive boom shook the hospital as Kankri screamed, pushing with his entire core, face covered in sweat, and hair pasted to his forehead by the stuff.

“What in the hell was that?!” Cronus asked, turning to look at the window, but Kankri squeezing his hand brought him back in an instant.

“Don’t you dare,” Kankri’s voice dripped venom. “Don’t you dare investigate. I don’t care if it’s the apocalypse, you are staying right here and helping me birth these grubs of yours so shut it and pay attention!”

Cronus smiled at him, a bit unnerved by the voice his boyfriend used but trying to hide it. “Of course, Kan.”

The lights started flickering as Doctor Lalonde, between Kankri’s legs, said, “Come on, I can see the head of one. Give me another big push…”

Kankri pushed with all he had and shouted as he did so, feeling a POW and a release of some pressure. He saw Cronus’ eyes light up and he saw Dr. Lalonde smile as he collapsed back.

“Oh, Kanny…” Cronus cooed, but the doctor cut them off.

“Celebrate in a minute, we’ve got one more. Give me one, last, big push, Kankri. Come on…”

Kankri took a deep breath and let out a loud shout as the lights continued to flicker, pushing with all his might until he felt one final POW, so much pressure released, he collapsed back and panted. When he opened his eyes, he saw Cronus beaming down at him and nurses towelling two somethings off. Cronus kissed his forehead and brushed his hair back. “Jesus, Kan, you did so great. You did it, fuck.”

Kankri’s voice rasped, “I did it.”

Cronus laughed a little, sounding a little wet with tears. “Yeah, you did.”

And in a moment, two little grubs were set down on his bare chest, blinking curiously up at the two of them. One bright, candy red and the other a royal violet with a streak of violet in his hair.

And Kankri smiled. He reached a tired hand up and pet their tufts of hair in turn. “Karkat Vantas, and Eridan Ampora. Make sure they don’t spell it wrong, Cronus,” he said tiredly, and let his eyes slip shut.

\-----

When Kankri came to, he heard the soft singing of Cronus, and in the dark, his eyes adjusted to look over and see his boyfriend cradling the two grubs to his chest as they rocked in a rocking chair. For a moment, he didn’t move, enjoying the sight of his boyfriend, dressed like a greaser but hair slightly out of place, looking down with so much love at the grubs it almost stopped his heart. “Edelweiss, edelweiss…” he sang, and Kankri smiled. It was positively beautiful.

When he finally had to shift, Cronus’ head snapped up. “Oh, Kanny, you’re awake. Hey, get some rest, I’ve got ‘em.”

Kankri shook his head. “I don’t want to rest right now. How are they?”

Cronus beamed. “Perfect, just like you.”

“And you,” Kankri replied.

Cronus scoffed, and looked down at the drowsy grubs. “If you say so.”

Kankri watched them quietly for a moment before asking, “Did you ever figure out what the source of the noise and the shaking was?” He watched as Cronus stiffened slightly and looked up at him slowly.

“Uh, yeah. Ship crashed at the park a block away. Troll ship.”

Kankri furrowed his brows. “Well that’s unfortunate, but Cronus...why do you look so uncomfortable?”

“I uh...I maybe recognized the ship?”

Kankri was quiet for a moment, before asking, “Cronus. Whose ship was it?” He feared he already knew the answer.

Cronus swallowed then looked away as he answered, “Master’s.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mean it when I say COMMENTS KEEP ME GOING!


	19. Erimus Iterum Conveniant

Dirk groaned and turned over in his bed as his shades beeped at him. “What, Hal? What is it, for fucks sake?” He slapped the shades on, rubbing at his eyes before reading the red text in front of them.

“A troll ship has crash landed in Houston, Bro is already on it, which means you need to be awake for Dave.”

Dirk sat up, flicking his speakers in his bedroom on as he tried to wake up faster. “Okay, slow it down for me, Hal, and give me the full explanation.”

There was a pause before, over the speakers, Hal’s voice filled the room. “At approximately 8:20 in the evening, a troll ship entered the atmosphere at top speeds, plummetting to the Earth after what seemed to be a psionic hold on the ship was released. The ship crashed in the park, though through some sort of miracle, it did not explode. Because you sleep like the dead, of course, you didn’t hear it.” Dirk, tired as he was, actually scowled at the speakers before letting the AI continue. “Rescue workers were able to pull ten trolls from the wreck, none of whom owned the space ship. They are currently being raced to the hospital, as Bro is racing right now. Dave is sleeping fussily so you might want to check on him, and I have informed D of the news so he will be coming home at once.”

Dirk hummed. “They must have been trying to get to us. Refugees. Yeah,” he agreed. “It’s good that D’s coming home. When will he get here?”

“His jet should take off any moment now, and he will touch down in Houston in two hours. My calculations tell me he will arrive home in two hours and ten minutes, and then head to the hospital.”

Dirk rubbed his face once more to wake himself up before he nodded. “Okay. Thanks, Hal. I’ll go check on Dave.”

“There is one more thing, Dirk,” Hal interrupted him.

Dirk sighed. “What, Hal? I asked for a full report.”

“On the crash landing, yes. However, there is other news. At approximately 4:37pm, Kankri Vantas was admitted to the hospital and just after the ship crashed, their grubs were born. I would have more specifics but it seems the ship caused some technical difficulties at the hospital and the information is not yet in the system. Cronus texted your phone and I read the message. He is appointing you the ‘Human Godfather’ as he calls it.”

Dirk’s brows raised and he flicked the speakers off, taking their conversation to his shades as he went into Dave’s room. “Son of a gun. That’s…”

“Poetic timing. The ship belonged to their former master.”

Dirk shook his head and picked up a fussing Dave. Things were about to get more interesting around here than he had previously thought possible.

\-----

The next time Kankri awoke, his alarm was the cries of one of his grubs from the bassinet-on-wheels next to his hospital bed. He stirred less than he normally would -- after all, he was quite a heavy sleeper most of the time and was hard to wake on the best of days -- and bent up to roll the little bed closer. His abdomen and nook hurt, but he could deal with that later.

He pulled the fussing grub,  _ his  _ fussing grub, Karkat, into his arms and left Eridan curled in his blanket nest. Cronus was asleep next to him, and if he needed him, he supposed he could wake him, but one grub he felt qualified to deal with.

The moment Karkat was in his hands, the grub seemed to sniffle curiously and look at Kankri with big, bright eyes. Kankri smiled softly at the little thing. So precious, with a tuft of unruly black hair and a pair of nubby horns, just like his own. It melted his heart just to look at his wriggler. Goodness, he had a son! At least, he thought it was a son. He...wasn’t entirely sure, but the male pronouns felt right to him and he would have no problem changing them later if need be.

Karkat stopped fussing as Kankri cooed, “It’s alright, little one, I’m here…” and instead tilted his head as if he was trying to figure something out. Kankri’s instinct told him to keep talking, and so he did.

“How does it feel to be out here in the big world, hm? I bet it was awfully tight in there with Eridan, wasn’t it? It’s going to have to be something you get used to, little one, having a brother and sharing space with him. I’m sure it will be no trouble at all. You’re a Vantas, Karkat, and we are very adaptable. At least your grandfather was, and I try to be. You’ll be great, I’m sure,” he blathered on, still tired and in pain. The words seemed to soothe the grub, and the little Vantas stuck one of his front legs in his mouth, sucking on it as he listened to his papa. “I traveled across the universe with you in my belly while my papa makes changes and adapts our whole species, so we’ve had to make changes too. And you, little one, are a big change, but a change that I’m very happy about.” 

He realized that he wasn’t making much sense, and was far less articulate than normal, but the grub didn’t seem to notice. In fact, the more words that came out of Kankri’s mouth, the more comfortable Karkat seemed. “Do you like it when your papa talks, little one? Hm?” he cooed with a smile, and Karkat looked pleased and curled up against Kankri’s chest. “You might just be the only one.”

“‘S’not true, Kanny,” the groggy voice of Cronus piped up from his side. “I like hearin’ you talk.”

“Cronus, oh, I’m sorry, did I wake you? I was just trying to calm Karkat-”

“You didn’t wake me, babe, an’ I think it worked just fine,” Cronus gestured to a half-asleep Karkat before he stretched in his seat. Kankri couldn’t help but smile. “Eri’s still asleep, huh? Good. They had some mashed fruit a bit ago an’ I put ‘em to sleep so we could all get some shut eye.”

“Thank you,” Kankri said quietly, gently petting Karkat’s back as he laid back himself. “I’m quite exhausted, so thank you for helping out so much.”

“You gotta be jokin’, right? That’s the whole reason I’m here, Kan. To help you. An’ they’re my grubs too.” Cronus looked at Eridan in the little nest and smiled. “Didn’t think they’d look so much like us, though. He’s even got the violet in his hair like my pops did…”

Kankri smiled a little sadly. “Yes, the resemblance is…”

“Un-Kanny?” Cronus smirked, causing Kankri to roll his eyes. A pleasant silence fell over them, with nothing but the dull beeping of some monitor in the background and the small noises the grubs made every so often. It was calm, peaceful. It couldn’t last.

“So...Kan...about the ship…” Kankri visibly tensed but didn’t say anything, looking down at Karkat instead of Cronus. “Dirk texted me an’ said Bro is gonna come talk to us about it in the real morning, so in a couple hours probably.”

Kankri hesitated. “What does Dirk know?”

Cronus shrugged. “He didn’t say. Didn’t seem worried, but the guy can be a stone wall if he wants to be. I think if it was important, we’d be notified more...uh...urgently, y’know?”

Kankri sighed and agreed, “That would make sense.” After a moment, he added with frustration, “It would be nice to have some time between us that wasn’t set to a background of catastrophe, uncertainty, and danger.”

“It’s gotta be one of these days, Kanny, just...not yet, I guess,” Cronus sighed as well, head falling back against the chair. “One of these days.”

\-----

When Kankri woke next, he heard Cronus next to him, tapping away at his phone, two grubs sleeping in the crook of his arm. Sun was barely streaming in through the window and casting a golden glow on his little family. Kankri smiled at the sight a little and let out a groggy, “cute.”

Cronus looked up, the shine on his hair catching the light. He beamed at Kankri. “Well look who’s up. How you feelin’?”

Kankri yawned and took a moment to assess his physical situation. “Sore, mostly. I’m still plenty tired. I should probably eat.”

“Whatever you want, Kanny. I’ll head down to the cafeteria and get us some grub,” Cronus responded, stuffing his phone into his pocket and moving Karkat and Eridan gently. He set them down on Kankri’s lap.

Kankri cringed. “Please don’t use that particular human slang. It’s very culturally inappropriate.” He hadn’t even hesitated to pet back the small tufts of hair on those tiny little heads, sleeping peacefully on his lap.

“Right, right, sorry.” Cronus stretched and shook out his shoulders. “Any requests?” Kankri raised a brow at his boyfriend and Cronus snorted a laugh. “Right. Grilled cheese, fries, and ketchup.”

Kankri smiled lightly. “You know me so well.”

“Hell yes I do.” Cronus leaned down and kissed his boyfriend’s cheek. “Be back in a minute. Page a nurse if you need anything.” He gave a fond look to the grubs before he started to walk around the bed.

And the room door burst open, a flurry of black and grey and hospital gown rushed forward, and Cronus was pinned by the neck to the wall by none other than Meenah.

Cronus choked out, “What the hell, Meenah?!”

Meenah moved to hit Cronus’ head back against the wall, not hard enough to knock him out but hard enough to hurt. “Shut up! Shut the fuck up!” She tightened her hand just a little.

“Meenah, stop it!” Kankri demanded, grubs curled protectively in his arms. “Let Cronus go!”

Meenah turned and glared at Kankri. “You shut the fuck up, too, Insufferable!”

“Let. Cronus. Go.” His voice had never been so dark, but he was determined to stare her down and stand his ground as much as he could.

And let him go she did, dropping him from a height onto the floor. He gasped, trying to regain his breath and let his gills get back to normal. “What the fuck, Meen? What are you even doin’ here?”

Meenah laughed bitterly and looked between the two of them. “You think you were gonna’ get off easy? Think you could just run away an’ none of us would get the coddamn shaft, huh?!” She spun in frustration shouting at them, “You’re fucking idiots!” 

She turned to Cronus, still on the ground, and kicked him hard in the side. Cronus groaned in pain and Kankri gasped, “Meenah!” He fumbled and hit the call button for the nurse.

“We all got bred in mass ‘cause of you! We all got tortured and beaten ‘cause of you!” She punctuated her sentences with kicks to Cronus’ sides. “We had to steal! A fucking ship! And dodge slavecatchers! For a month! Because! Of! YOU!”

“Meenah! MEENAH! MEENAH, STOP IT,” Kankri shouted, abusing the call button and causing Karkat and Eridan to wake up with shrieks and sobs.

Meenah stopped and panted, glaring down at Cronus, who glared right back up at her. “I would kill you right now if it wouldn’t get me locked up, and that’s not just a threat.”

Finally, a nurse opened the door and immediately called down the hall for security guards. Meenah turned and laughed at her. “Please. They can’t mess with me. I’m growin’ grubs.” She started to walk calmly to the door, passing the nurse with a glare. “Because of you,” she called back, and walked into the hallway.

\-----

When Karkat and Eridan were finally settled back to sleep and Cronus was treated for growing bruises, Bro knocked before entering the room. He tipped his hat at them. “Congrats on the grubs,” he acknowledged, moving swiftly over to the foot of the bed. “I’ve gotta make this quick, got a buncha shit ta sort out for all this.”

“Because of the ship?” Cronus tried to clarify.

“Yeah, see turns out, that ship was from your plantation. Filled with all your buddies, all’uv’em knocked up. Seems they escaped when shit hit the fan best they could.”

“All of them?” Kankri questioned, brows furrowed. “Our friends and their parents?” The ship wasn’t that big.

“Nah, just the ones your age. I don’t have all the details, most of ‘em are still sleepin’ off the shock of crash landed, save the one came in an’ ruffed ya up,” Bro looked over a Cronus who scowled and looked away. “Just thought I’d let you know we’ll be gettin’ ‘em all set up with housin’ soon, settin’ ‘em up same as you, an’ you’re all still safe here. Got any questions, ask Dirk.” Bro started to walk out without ceremony.

“Wait, Bro,” Kankri stopped him. He was already reeling at everything that had just happened, seeing Meenah after so long and after believing he would never see any of them again... “Everyone’s safe, yes? Nobody was hurt?”

“All but one. Yellowblood. Fried himself gettin’ everyone to safety. Still kickin’, not sure what the damage is yet.”

“Mituna…” Kankri breathed out. They had been friends, almost brothers. Cronus and Mituna had been close as long as he could remember. “I...thank you, Bro.”

Bro tipped his hat once again and left. And if Kankri saw Cronus surreptitiously wipe at his eye, he carefully pretended not to notice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp. Grad school can't keep me away forever, it seems. A little short but eh, I'm a busy gal. Comment below!


	20. Oblatio

D stepped off the plane into the sweltering Houston heat and loosened his admittedly already loose tie. He tapped the corner of his shades as he walked off the runway to his waiting car. The bright red Delorean was already running. As he slid into blessed air conditioning and a surprisingly modern interior, he pulled the door down and sat back.

“Good to have you back, D,” a mechanical voice sounded over the speakers.

“Good to be back, Hal.” He buckled his seatbelt, pulled out his phone, and opened a game app. “Do your thing.”

The brakes released, the gas pedal moved down, and they were out of the airport in no time.

\-----

“Come on, Kan. It’ll be fine. Just take a shower.”

“No. Absolutely not.” Kankri sat stubbornly on the hospital bed. “I’m not going in there and leaving you out here alone with the grubs.”

“We’ll be fine. They’re asleep. You could use the time to relax, babe.” Cronus had been at this for at least ten minutes, knowing full well the water could do wonders for the body.

“And what if Meenah comes back, hm? Or one of the others?” Kankri pressed. “If they pin you against the wall, who will protect the grubs?”

Cronus rolled his eyes. “Ain’t nobody gonna come in an’ get the grubs. They put a guard outside the door just in case, Bro’s orders. Nobody’s comin’. Just take a shower.”

“As if I trust a guard against an angry, revenge-driven troll,” Kankri grumbled, still not moving.

Cronus sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. “Look, Kan. I know it’s scary, but you gotta take care’a yourself, too. They cleaned you up okay, but givin’ birth is messy an’ you should really wash up. What would your pa say?”

Kankri tensed. “Don’t bring my father into this, Cronus.”

“Yeah? Why not? ‘Cause you know he’d want you to get up an’ get a shower an’ trust me to protect our grubs. That’s the whole reason I’m here. Protect you. Protect our family. An’ I’ll do it. Just...please, Kan. Please.”

Kankri stayed tense, looking over at the plastic bassinet Karkat and Eridan were sleeping in, curled in a pile of blankets. Cronus was right, of course, but Kankri never was one to admit when someone else was right. “Do you have a weapon on you?”

Cronus patted his pocket where a sharper than sharp assisted-open knife was stashed. “Always, Kan.”

Kankri swallowed. “Fine. I will take a shower, but if anything happens, you shove the grubs in the bathroom and shut the door, do you understand me?”

Cronus broke into a bit of a smile, chuckling and leaning down to kiss his boyfriend. “You’re too smart, Kanny. Yeah. I’ll do that. You need help?”

Slowly but surely, Kankri climbed out of the bed for the first time in over 24 hours. He grabbed his IV post and wheeled it along with him to the bathroom. “I’m fine. Stand watch.”

Cronus nodded, moving over to do just that. “Take your time, babe. I’ll be here when I you get out.”

\-----

For two days, a guard remained posted outside of the hospital room. Kankri refused to let Cronus go get them food, instead making an orderly fetch it for them. They received no new information from Bro and Dirk remained short in his text messages to Cronus, though this was nothing new. The Striders seemed mostly unfazed by the recent developments, but Kankri certainly was not. He could sense that Cronus was a bit on edge, too, but trying to be calm for him. Kankri hated when people tried to be calm for him.

On the third day, Dr. Lalonde returned once more to check on Kankri and the grubs, and her normal demeanor did nothing to put him at ease. “Congratulations, you two. Your grubs are healthy and Kankri is healing nicely. I think we can put in the discharge papers and get you home by the end of the day!”

“Will we have protection at home?” Kankri asked.

“I’m sorry…?”

“Protection,” he reiterated. “Will we be safe there? Nobody is going to come in and beat my boyfriend to a pulp?”

“It wasn’t a pulp,” Cronus grumbled under his breath, crossing his arms.

“Oh, are you referring to the incident a few days ago?” Lalonde smiled calmly. “All of those trolls have been moved to the agency for a few weeks. We’ll get them calmed and ready to move into the world from there. Nobody’s going to hurt you. Aren’t they your friends?”

Kankri fiddled with his claws in his lap. “We were, once.”

“Well then, you can be again. I’m sure if you want to get in touch with them, we can arrange that, but nobody’s going to know where you live and come hurt you there. You’ll be just fine,” she assured them.

“Thanks,” Cronus spoke up. Once Dr. Lalonde left, he turned to Kankri. “Kan, you know we gotta talk to ‘em, right?”

Kankri didn’t meet his gaze. Guilt filled his every thought. Meenah’s words rang in his ears.  _ Because of you. _ Because of him, all of his friends were hurt. Because of him, they risked their lives and because of him, Mituna was...he didn’t even know. He chewed the inside of his bottom lip where he’d begun to worry it raw and watched the rising and falling of Karkat and Eridan’s bodies as they slept on his lap.

“Kan…?” Cronus pressed. “You wanna tell me what you’re thinkin’ a mile a minute?”

“She’s right,” Kankri admitted. “It’s all my fault.”

Cronus’ brows knitted together and he sat on the bed next to his boyfriend. “Whoa, hey, no she ain’t. Ain’t none of that your fault. You know damn well Meenah woulda done worse than just run away if she was in your shoes. You didn’t put yourself in that position, the blackblood bastards did.”

“I could have stayed, Cronus. We could have stayed and-”

“And what, huh? Have Kar get sold? Would we even have Eri? No. No, don’t you fuckin’ think like that,” Cronus demanded. “We did the right thing. Meenah an’ all of them will get the fuck over it. Don’t you dare blame yourself.”

Kankri sniffled and finally looked up at Cronus. “I can’t just turn it off like that. It isn’t that simple.”

Cronus took his hands in his. “Then I’ll tell you it every day until you believe me, ‘cause it’s true.” Cold lips met warm knuckles. “I love you, Kan.We did the right thing.”

“I love you, too,” Kankri whispered. He took a deep, shaky breath and sighed it out. “Let’s...let’s take the boys home.” 

His tension started to release as a smile bloomed on Cronus’ face. “Yeah, Kan. Let’s go home.”

\-----

Dirk knocked on the door to Kankri and Cronus’ apartment. He had a spare key, sure, but he didn’t need them freaking out about him entering unannounced, especially with Dave strapped to his back. Sure, the kid was almost a year old now, but he was extremely clingy and easily spooked. It was best to be calm about this.

Cronus opened the door with a grin. “Hey man, thanks for coming over.” He stepped aside to let the human in and shut the door after him. “Kan’s just gettin’ the grubs up from a nap. He’ll be out in a sec.”

“Not a problem,” Dirk responded, slipping off his shoes so Kankri wouldn’t throw a fit about carrying dirt in. “Are you sure you’re good to go meet with the other trolls on your own? I can watch Karkat and Eridan and let you two go alone?”

Cronus shrugged, stuffing his hands into his jean pockets. “Figure it’s better I go than Kan. He gets all worked up about things, y’know? Most I ever get is angry. ‘Sides, there’s no way he’s leaving the grubs alone with you an’ Davey. They’re only two weeks, y’know? That’s pretty young.”

Dirk nodded, distracted by the light scraping taps of little legs on the floor, rushing out across the living room before Kankri stepped out of their curtained-off bedroom. “Oh, Dirk, you’re here. Thank you so much for coming, really. I would hate to have Cronus walk to the agency in the dark alone.”

“I could defend myself, Kan, we’ve been over this.”

Kankri held up his hand. “The truck will be faster and it’ll be nice to introduce the grubs to Dave. And this way, if anyone were to show up…” Well, Dirk could protect them. He’d seen Dirk fight Bro and had recently seen Dirk send videos of him fighting D to show Cronus some new moves.

Cronus crossed over to his boyfriend and kissed the tip of his horn, making him shiver. “Better safe than sorry, I know, I know. I-hey!” He broke into a laugh as Eridan started to climb his pants, getting stuck about at his waist and letting out a chirp of protest. He scooped up his son and looked at him. “You little adventurer, stop climbin’ my threads!” Eridan squawked back and seemed to glare at his father, who rubbed a thumb along the bottom of the grub’s jaw, massaging a gland that made almost every troll purr, including tiny ones.

Kankri smiled at the sight. “Dirk, make yourself at home. I’ll get the play corral out and Dave and the boys can play in it.” He scooped Karkat up and set him on the couch, from which the little grub shouted after his dad until he came back with a large circular fence that made a ring in the center of the living room. In went some stuffed toys that Dirk had given them as a new-baby present before Kankri settled the shouting grub into the pen. Karkat stopped as soon as he was presented with a toy he could attempt to destroy, and Eridan was set down soon after while Dirk unhooked Dave.

Cronus walked over and hugged Kankri, catching the keys from Dirk. “I better go. Leave some dinner leftovers for me, okay?”

Kankri hugged back and murmured in his boyfriend’s ear, “stay safe and come home to me,” before he let him go.

\-----

Cronus smiled at Roxy as he entered the agency. “Evenin’, Rox. Are they ready for me?”

“Crobro!” Roxy smiled up at him, running around the counter to give him a tight, bubbly hug. “They’re all set to go. Bro and D are already waiting outside the room to go in with you. Want me for backup?”

“Aw, Rox, no thanks. Just uh...could you make sure if Kan calls to get to me right away?” He may not be so worried as to be scared to go to the bathroom while alone with the grubs, but he never knew if something horrible was going to go wrong and he was a new dad...he told himself it was fine to worry.

“Of course, Crofins!” Roxy kissed him on the cheek, bright pink lipstick smearing on it before she wiped it off. “I’ll be waiting by the phone!”

“Thanks,” Cronus patted her shoulder before heading back further into the agency, down a flight of stairs and toward a meeting room where, sure enough, Bro and D were waiting just outside. He hadn’t met D yet. He had no reason to and the guy had been busy since he got into town, but Dirk respected him and Cronus respected Dirk so he extended his hand for a shake. “Cronus Ampora. You’re gonna wanna watch the claws.”

“D Strider.” D shook his hand with precision, avoiding the claws altogether. “Maybe you’ve seen my movies.”

“Unless they’re from before 1970, no sir. I’ve got an image to cultivate,” Cronus smirked. D’s expression wasn’t as unreadable as Bro’s. In fact, he could tell D was amused.

“Ready’ta go in?” Bro asked, breaking up the conversation.

Cronus cleared his throat and nodded. “Uh, yeah. Yeah. They’re all in there?”

“All ten,” Bro nodded, grabbing the door handle and turning it. “After you.”

Cronus squared his shoulders and entered after the door was opened for him. It took a moment for his mind to process the ten trolls, sitting in cushy computer chairs, swells to their stomachs that he didn’t remember from the last time he saw them. He tried to think back to when that was, and he assumed it was the breakfast before they left on Bro’s ship that night. Everyone was just...acting normal. Rufioh was grinning and flirting with Damara, Mituna was talking excitedly with Latula and high-fives rang out from between them, Meenah and Aranea were bickering, Muelin and Kurloz were having a happy little conversation like they always did, and Porrim and Horuss were on kitchen duty. He and Kankri were too busy talking together with Kankri’s dad to even pay them much mind and now...there they were, all looking at him with expressions he didn’t want to read.

He cleared his throat again and stood at the head of the table. “So, it’s uh...it’s been a while. ‘Cept with you, Meenah.”

Meenah gave him a mocking smile before scoffing and crossing her arms. “Where’s Insufferable? Didn’t have the globes to come here?”

“Watchin’ the grubs, Meen,” Cronus responded. “Y’can’t just leave ‘em alone an’ shit’s different here on Earth. A good different, but different.”

Another scoff came from further back in the room, Damara, muttering to herself in East Beforan, “猫は魚をホイップした...”

Cronus rolled his eyes and tucked the cigarette between his lips behind his ear. “Look, I came to talk everythin’ out, okay, so if you don’t want to, that’s fine, but I’m ready to do this shit.”

“What’s there to talk out, Cronus?” Porrim spoke up, standing up from her chair. “We’re all in this situation because of you and Kanny and your poor planning.”

Cronus stood his ground and raised a brow at her. “You think that’s what this was? We just ran away on a whim an’ fucked you all over?” 

“Look around, Cronus. That’s what it looks like to me,” she responded.

“Kan was...Por, you know that Kan was gonna become a new breedin’ machine for Master, they were gonna sell off his candy-bloods for a pretty penny an’ use ‘im over an’ over. We couldn’t let that happen,” Cronus protested.

“You could have taken us with you, Cro,” Rufioh protested. “Or fuck, even told us what was goin’ on!”

“And risk it failing, getting killed or worse? Hell no. The ship had room for two of us, an’ we took it,” Cronus pointed at Meenah, “An’ don’t pretend you wouldn’t do the same god damn thing if you could have. If you had the opportunity to escape, you fuckin’ would have. So stop actin’ all self righteous and cut us some slack. I mean, fuck, what even happened after we left?”

Aranea crossed her arms. “What happened? I’ll tell you what happened. During the first week, nobody even noticed. Master left for one of his missions and everything was just fine. Then when he came back and wanted a report, to see Kankri gravid for himself, nobody could find him. He tore the plantation up and by that time, Signless had already gone too. He was furious, Cronus. Furious. He took us all, all of us, and questioned us ruthlessly. The foreman beat us and when we couldn’t tell him anything, he bred us. One after another, over and over in a room together, and locked us in there for months. Food was shoved under the door and our parents were tortured every day within earshot because apparently, he’d lost a huge money maker and wasn’t letting us get away with it. Psii broke us out, Mituna stole the ship, and we left.” She shook her head and stared up at the ceiling. “And now we’re here, our parents probably dead, and we’re stuck. So tell me again how this isn’t your fault?”

Cronus sat down heavily in the chair at the head of the table, Bro and D watching from near the door. “It’s not. It’s the blackbloods an’ that stupid fuckin’ planet an’ Signless is preachin’ to fix it, an’ you got out. You’re not slaves anymore. You should be thankin’ us.”

Kurloz slammed his fist on the table and a raspy voice, one Cronus didn’t remember Kurloz having, commanded, “Bullshit!” He coughed a little and Cronus furrowed his brows.

“His throat was damaged in the crash,” Muelin explained. “And my ears, too, I can barely hear. And Mituna, he…” Cronus looked over at Mituna for the first time since he had entered the room and he was curled around his gravid stomach, frowning and muttering under his breath. “He’s not the same. He glitches. He’s there one second and then...gone the next.”

“Not to mention, we’re stuck with these grubs,” Latula pointed out. “That doctor...Dr. Lalonde, she said they can take the black bloods away from us but what about the other ones, huh?”

Cronus was silent for a moment. “Look, I ain’t no leader, guys, an’ I’m sorry about the damages but...you were gonna have the grubs anyway at some point. Here, the agency can help you get housin’ an’ jobs an’ you can be your own master an’ get an education an’ shit...you can be normal people here. It sucks, you’re right, it really fuckin’ sucks but blamin’ eachother...it ain’t gonna help. You all know that.” He looked out at the trolls who were his friends, used to be his friends...all in different stages of looking at eachother and looking away, and he sighed. “M’not askin’ for forgiveness, guys, but just...take the chance you got here. You’re free.”

Nobody spoke. The room was silent, and nobody would look at Cronus. “Roxy, at the front desk? She’s got my number if you need to chat. I’m goin’ home. Focus on findin’ one. Might do you good.” With that he stood, shook his head at them again, and left.

\-----

Dave was sleeping, curled up in a blanket pile on the floor with Eridan snoozing on his feet and Karkat curled around his head. Kankri didn’t like them sleeping so close to the floor, but Dirk had assured him that moving them would be worse.

They hadn’t spoken much. Dirk watched the children play while Kankri made spaghetti and by the time the food was done, the three were sound asleep together, so Dirk joined him at the kitchen table and they ate in relative silence. Until Dirk broke it.

“What was it like, being a slave?” he asked.

Kankri stopped swirling his pasta around his fork and looked up at Dirk with furrowed brows. “What?”

“What was it like? I thought that was a pretty direct way to ask.”

“Why do you...why do you want to know that?” Kankri asked carefully.

“I want to understand it,” Dirk supplied. “I want to know what I’ve seen my brothers fighting to end my whole life. I want to know what I’m fighting to end. Logically, yes, I know it’s awful and wrong and all sorts of other adjectives, but I want to understand what it’s  _ like _ .” Jake had told him not to ask this, that it was rude, and Roxy and Jane both wholeheartedly agreed, but he was going to have to satisfy his curiosity in some way. Asking would be the easiest.

Kankri considered his reasoning. It was sound, and very open to acknowledge his own privilege and lack of experience in the area. Dirk was going about this the right way, but how could he possibly explain it?

He was silent for a moment, poking at his food before he started to respond. “Being a slave is like being conscious but not being alive.” 

Kankri looked at Dirk, who was calmly paying attention, before continuing. “It’s being awake and aware of your surroundings, but having absolutely no control over what you do with it. So much as a wrong breath can end your life and so everything you do, or think, or feel goes through a filter to make sure it fits the wants and needs of someone else. It’s not knowing what full feels like or if the people who surround you will be there the next day. It’s constantly running from something toward a destination you’d never choose. It’s…” Kankri swallowed. “Being a slave is living without living. Does that answer your question, Dirk?”

\-----

The fog surrounded him as he stepped carefully through the marshlands. It was safe to travel when nobody could see, including himself. This new destination was the most risky: a plantation near the one he had run from. 

He knew there were sixty-two slaves there, all rust and burgundy, worked to the bone for rice crops. He knew many were replaced each year, killed from overexposure to water and the weather. They needed his message. He was ready to give it.

He paused, ducking behind some tall cattails as a figure, no...three figures approached in the fog. He was frozen in place and he looked down to see red and blue sparks surround his body from the neck down. The figures moved forward into his vision and a smile bloomed across his face.

“Okay, Thign, the kidth are gone. Time to get to work.”


	21. Arbitraria

Dualscar was decidedly not a leader.

In truth, he thought there was a reason that he wasn’t the top of the old hemospectrum. He had more than a bit of a temper and was more cutthroat than an effective leader should be. He didn’t have sympathy and empathy was something he really didn’t want to dip a toe into if he didn’t have to. Really, he wasn’t even sure that he had enough of an emotional range for that anyway. On top of all that, there was the fact that he was a seadweller and his solutions didn’t always match with the majority of trolls’ capabilities. He wasn’t a good match for what a good leader would be. Signless was, and he knew that.

But Signless wasn’t here. He was.

So Dualscar found himself leading the other trolls that didn’t jump ship for Signless’ cause on the quest to find their kids on Earth. Wherever that was. In fact, he didn’t assume the position of leader on his own. The others had put him in charge, even Summoner.

After all, it was Dualscar who killed Master in a swift and decisive motion of his bare hands.

\---

“And so we must stand up for our right to live, stand up for our rights as a people, stand up and say that we will not stand for enslavement, we will not stand for the rape of ourselves and our young, we will not stand for anything less than equality, freedom, and peace amongst all trolls!”

The trolls in the meeting house smiled, not daring to clap and be heard, but lifting their fists in a salute to match Signless’ own empowered gesture. He stood before the assembly of jades and ceruleans with a kind of confidence that was infectious.

This was their eighth stop in as many days to spread the word of abolition. Signless didn’t know much about the geography of this place, but it must be favorable as there was a dense population of plantations and workhouses. He figured before they moved on, to another area and took some rest on their journey, it would be another ten or so days. But the work he did was invigorating for him and he didn’t need rest, he felt. He felt alive in a way he hadn’t in a long time. He felt like he was finally doing what he was meant to do, and despite moving around constantly, if he was speaking, he was where he belonged.

He stepped off the bench he had been preaching from and kindly engaged in conversation with everyone who wished to ask him questions, to thank him, to promise their dedication to the cause.

It was an hour before he would allow Dolorosa to pull him aside. She sat him down at one of the small tables and placed a bowl in front of him with a surprising amount of force. She bapped him on the cheek with a piece of crusty bread and commanded, “Eat, Signless. Right now.”

He smiled up at her as he took the bread from her to use as a utensil. “Of course, _mother_.”

She sat down across from him. “Don’t give me that. You know that you should be taking better care of yourself if you want to continue to spread the Good Word. We’re worried about you working yourself too hard.”

Signless would have responded immediately were his mouth not already full of vegetables and rice. He knew she would chide him for that, too, so he chewed and swallowed before he retorted, “Working myself too hard? Rosa, I’m talking for maybe an hour or two at a time. It’s not really any more work than what you, Psii, and Dissy are doing. Maybe I need some water for my voice but I don’t need to be treated like a wriggler.”

Dolorosa shook her head slowly and placed a hand on Sign’s arm. “You don’t just speak, child. You channel hope and inspiration like you are a living conduit. It exhausts your body more than you can apparently see.”

“Kind words,” Signless admitted, “but I’m fine. Really. I feel better than I have in such a long time. Rest will come when it’s meant to.”

“But will you allow it in?”

He placed his hand over hers and squeezed. “I promise I will. Please, don’t worry about me.”

Dolorosa stood, moving to kiss him on his head between his horns, murmuring, “what a ridiculous request,” before she moved off into the crowd of other jades.

\---

The Strider household was tense in a way it hadn’t been in a long time. The atmosphere could be cut with a knife. Luckily, if they needed, there were plenty of sharp objects around.

Hal was currently broadcasting an intercepted transmission to the speakers in Bro and D’s shades as they stood across the breakfast bar from each other. D’s arms were straight, tense, palms pressed into the edge of the counter. Bro’s arms were crossed across his chest, and it took a Strider to notice in his perfect poker face the traces of a frown.

“The Signless has left the Novgorod Forest area, but catchers have yet to spot him and those he travels with on their watch. Places that should be on watch for the next appearance of this criminal are: Urgmorid City, Miass-Vody Courtlands, Komi-Kaluga, Pestovo Springs, and the small towns surrounding Sevench. Wanted dead or alive, the Signless and his band will fetch a 60 million unit reward each, double if all are brought alive to the BBO Collective in the Capitol. Remember: keep watch, keep ready, and keep strong, Black Bloods.”

The speakers went silent.

Minutes passed.

“One of you should probably say something.”

“No shit, Hal,” D bit back. He brought his fingers to the bridge of his nose above his shades. “Look, I knew when I decided to fight against these fucks and start freeing trolls, things would get dicey eventually, but what are we even doing now?”

“Same thing’s’we always been. We’ll keep runnin’ the agency here an’ takin’ ‘em back as we can,” Bro offered.

“That’s not enough anymore!” D’s shades went skittering across the countertop. “We need to start a full rebellion. That transmission was Rwanda level. We need to start targeting key blackbloods and taking them out of power before we’ve got a full-on genocide on our hands.”

“First of all, it ain’t on our hands. We decided to help an’ we can decide how an’ when an’ when not t’do anythin’. Second of all, that shit ups the risk. Whoever’s takin’em out is gonna get murdered at some point, an’ then who’s left to help? Don’t try’n bullshit me an’ say ya don’t wanna do this yerself.”

D narrowed his red eyes at Bro. “Who else would do it? You’ll still be able to run the agency. I can take them out.”

“May I suggest diplomacy?” Hal piped up. “Perhaps the President could be persuaded to help and grant resources.”

D scoffed. “She’d need to grow a pair with her whole ‘peace and only peace’ regime. She won’t stick up for anyone.”

“Still ain’t reason enough for you ta go on a killin’ spree. ‘Sides, they don’t come to Earth. Ya’d have ta go out in space an’ that’s my job. Yer s’posed to be the pretty boy with the good face, fundin’ this operation. I’ll handle the trolls in space.”

“I want to help,” Dirk piped up from behind them, the door to his bedroom closed.

“No,” D responded without missing a beat.

Dirk stepped forward, opening his arms a bit. “Why not? I’m old enough. I’ve been raised helping you guys fight this war and I have the skill and the even temper to do it.”

“Do what?” Bro asked.

“Anything! Kill key blackbloods? I’m up for it. Help fund this shit? I can sell more robots. I built Hal, I can build something else that’s not half as advanced and make us billions. I can take over the agency so you’re free to do other stuff. Just let me help.”

“You’re helping enough,” D insisted, reaching for his shades. “You don’t need to worry about this stuff yet. You’re just a kid.”

“Bullshit, _dad_ ,” Dirk bit out, causing D to freeze. “I’m not a kid. I am just as as much a Strider as you and Bro. Give me something to do.”

“Or?” Bro looked at him over his shades, attempting to intimidate.

Dirk stretched up to his full height and stood strong. “Or I’ll do it myself.”

Bro looked at D. D looked at Bro.

“It would help if he took over the agency, D…” Bro conceded.

“Yeah, plus then I would stay here and watch over Dave and Bro could take more trips into space and you could do more movies and shit.”

“And I’ll work on the President while I do all of the monitoring work,” Hal asserted.

D looked around at his brothers. His brother and his son. Yeah, sure, he raised Dirk as his little brother but his protectiveness as a father had never gone away. Keeping Dirk here would be the best option for him, the safest option. “Fine. You can run the agency.”

A rare smile spread on Dirk’s face. “Yes, fuck, I won’t let you down, D,” he rushed over and held up a fist for a bump, but D pulled him into a hug instead.

 ---

Dualscar looked at the smoking mess of the ship they’d stolen and frowned. At least everyone got out alive. Now what?

“I should be able to put it back together,” Darkleer offered, “But...perhaps I shouldn’t fly it.”

“No shit,” scoffed Spinneret. Darkleer bristled.

“That’s not helpin’ anythin’,” Dualscar huffed. “We’ll just have t’find another ship.”

“There’s a shipyard across the continent. If we could get there and steal one, we might have a better chance?” Summoner offered.

“That’s a two year long journey on foot easy, Sum,” Dualscar pointed out. “Anyone else got ideas?” He looked around. Nobody moved.

“Well, walkin’ it is.”

\---

Roxy kept Cronus up to date on the others. All of them had opted for controlled abortion of the blackbloods before they turned into actual beings inside of them, which Cronus thought was a pretty fair deal. Apparently they were splitting up into twos or fours for housing and getting places around the same neighborhood they themselves had settled in. He was careful not to tell Kankri this part for fear the guy would barricade them inside the house.

He went out to meetings with them when they got cellphones, when they started night classes, when they started shopping for food, and even attended a few of their cultural-adjustment classes. It was slow going, and he didn’t think anyone would actually forgive him again, but soon enough he was on good terms with Rufioh and Porrim had started to ask about Kankri.

“Why don’tcha talk to him yourself, Por?” Cronus asked with annoyance after the fifth or so time she asked about him that week. “You have his number. You know he works early mornin’ classes. Give him a ring or troll him.”

“If you know my Kanny as well as you claim to, you would know that Kankri is likely not to respond to such an outreach.”

Cronus wanted, really wanted to comment on her possessive nature over Kankri, but tried to swallow it down for the sake of peace. Why was he in charge of peace? Fuck, he hated it. “I’m not a messenger. You talk to him or don’t, but I’m not standin’ in the middle. I got shit to do.”

He turned away, trying to head home for the day, when Porrim rested a hand on his shoulder. “Yes, but-” She stopped and he turned to look, first at the hand resting on him, then up at her with a quirked brow. She looked away for a moment before looking back at him. “You’ve been taking care of him. It only seems fair that-”

“Alright, I’m gonna have to stop you right there, Por.” Cronus bit down his highblood rage but only just, fins flaring in a natural threat. “I’m sick of all that bullshit. Was Kan raped like all of you? Yeah. Was he gravid an’ shit an’ in the hospital when you guys arrived? Sure. An’ yeah, his dad sent me with him to watch his back, but Kanny is capable of takin’ care of himself. You an’ everyone else need to stop treatin’ him like he’s some delicate little flower that I’m protectin’ or some princess in a tower just ‘cause he’s got emotions or a mouth on ‘im or whatever. If you think you can’t get through to him, an’ you think that goin’ through me is the right way to do it, then yeah. You’re right. You don’t know him as well as I do.”

\---

Karkat scurried off into the living room with Eridan’s seahorse in his mouth, followed by a shriek-squawking Eridan. The television lit the room in bright whites and blues. Cronus sipped from a glass-bottle Coke with his feet up and out of the way of the playing grubs. Kankri sat next to him, keeping an eye on the grubs but also watching to see who would be the next contestant leaving the tent in this season of The Great British Bake-Off. Both Jane and Jake had insisted that it was great television, though Jake said something more along the lines of ‘a ripsnorter of a good time.’ They both had to admit that Jake and Jane were right.

Karkat ran under Cronus’ legs and Eridan, instead, jumped up and bit Cronus’ pants, hanging on by his teeth.

“Whoa! Hey, okay, Eri, don’t do that, you coulda sent me to the hospital,” Cronus chided with a slight laugh, gently removing the grub from his pant leg and pulling him up to eye level. “What is it, Kar’s got your toy?”

Eridan’s little eyes narrowed and he squawked at his father. Of course Karkat had his toy. And he wanted it back. It was rightfully his.

“Okay, okay, come on.” Cronus carefully set him down and intercepted Karkat as he ran by again. “Give it up, buttercup. That’s Eri’s toy. You got your own.”

Kankri watched the gentleness with which Cronus took the stuffed toy from their son’s mouth and handed it over to their other son, who took it in his mouth, stuck his head in the air, and stalked off. He was certain that despite loving this tv show, there was never anything more amusing than his own family. The way Eridan took his toy posessively over to a little nest he’d built himself and cuddled up to it...the way Karkat was now ‘yelling’ Cronus’ earfins off? It was positively priceless.

He sat up and reached out for their little debator and took him from a slightly off-put Cronus. “Now now, Karkat,” he said, shooshing the grub just slightly. “When we debate and lecture, we have to keep ourselves calm and make sure to give the other person a chance to speak. I know it’s hard, trust me, little one, but it’s the only way progress can be made.”

Karkat narrowed his eyes and huffed in exasperation, wiggling to a more comfortable position in his father’s arms. _Parents_.

Cronus chuckled and slung an arm around his boyfriend’s shoulders. “Just like you, huh? Only a lot more angry than I remember it.”

Kankri smiled and gave a small laugh himself, cuddling his son close. “He’ll grow out of it, I’m sure. Having a sibling must be frustrating business.”

“I don’t know, Kanny, you didn’t change much. Still cute as a button, just in a different an’ totally legal way.” He turned his head to kiss Kankri’s flushed cheek.

“Oh, Cronus, not in front of the kids…”

“Aw, it’s almost their bedtime, huh? Let’s put ‘em to bed and have our own...bedtime.” He pet Kankri’s shoulder with his possessive arm and let a low purr take over his voicebox. He felt Kankri shiver. He could almost shiver himself.

Kankri swallowed, murmuring, “you take them to sleep and I’ll meet you afterward?”

“Sure thing, sweetcheeks.”

Kankri watched as Cronus flawelessly scooped up both of their grubs in turn and slipped away into their little nursery before he found it in himself to even move. Cronus had a way of making him totally relaxed that he felt messed with his response time to things, but the troll always jokingly chalked it up to something about his charm so Kankri stopped bringing it up with him.

He stood and slipped away himself into their curtained-off bedroom area where he pulled his phone out of his pocket to charge it and...wait, a missed call? From...did he know that number? He tapped the screen and brought up the voicemail attached to the alert, holding it up to his ear to listen quietly and not wake the grubs.

“Hey, Kanny- er, Kankri. It’s me, Porrim. I got your number from the agency registry. Mituna looks to be glitching on the outside, but it would seem that he is the same inside and he helped me retrieve the number. I wanted to talk to you, but it looks like I missed you. I hope you didn’t dismiss my call on purpose, but I would understand if you did. Just...I would like to talk to you. I miss you. I’ll be at Nana’s Bakery and Cafe on Tuesday afternoon at one and I’d like for you to meet me there. Just to talk, that’s all. I- oh fucksauce, it’s beeping at me, I need to go, I’ll hopefully see you the-” and the message ended.

“Who was that?” Cronus asked, arms wrapping around the shorter of the two. He must have been standing there frozen for the grubs to be in bed, asleep, and Cronus to be joining him. “Some other lover I should be worried about?”

“Porrim,” Kankri said with a roll of his eyes. “You know that I have no interest in others. Porrim called, I missed it, and she left a message. She wants to meet.”

“Does she, now?” Cronus started kissing down his neck. His odd accented stutter never went away and Kankri noticed in as it trailed off with the kisses alighting his skin. “You gonna meet her?”

“I...I don’t know. She sounded apologetic but I’m the one who should-ah!” Teeth sunk into his skin and he clapped a hand over his mouth to keep it down.

“Stop right there with that talk, Kankri Vantas. You have nothing to apologize for. Am I gonna have to fuck those thoughts right out of your head?” He lapped at the mark, which didn’t really draw blood but was noticeable on Kankri’s thin shoulder.

“Ugh…” Kankri groaned. “Please do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, grad school's been taking up all of my writing time but I do have a full outline now for the rest of the narrative so hopefully I can keep finding bits of time here and there to write.  
> Comments make me want to write, too, so...there's that.


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